im very sorry to hear your story heba. the p.l.o fighters were no different during thier reign of lebanon before the 1982 isreali invasion. if those actions and murders can be attributed to hezbullah itself, or trigger-happy gunmen is a different issue in itself.
however, everyone else, as we all can see from the report below, this latest round of fighting had more to do with politics than anything else, over the firing of a security chief in beirut's airport.
also if you notice, the western media kept trying to make it a sectarian thing. while al jazeera english, which is full of western reporters themselves, showed a totally different story and probably the truth on top of it. is it any wonder why if you watch al jazeera english, so many highly recognized western reporters work for them? from the bbc to abc's Dave Marish?
At least 14 deaths have been reported after clashes erupted on Saturday in north Lebanon [AFP]
Opposition fighters took rapid control of many suburbs of Lebanon's capital [AFP]
UPDATED ON:
SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2008
18:12 MECCA TIME, 15:12 GMT
NEWS MIDDLE EAST
Violence flares in Lebanon
Hezbollah-led opposition fighters began to pull out of the streets of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, after the army said that it was revoking the measures taken by the government against the Shia opposition group.
In a statement on Saturday, the army had also asked all armed fighters to withdraw from the streets of Beirut.
The announcement came after a televised speech by Fouad Siniora, the prime minister, and against a backdrop of escalating violence beyond the capital.
The statement further said that the airport security chief fired by the government for his links to Hezbollah would be reinstated.
The army said the issue of Hezbollah's communications network would be handled by the army's Signal Corps.
The network was previously deemed "illegal" by the government.
Fighters withdraw
Agencies said on Saturday that opposition fighters who had routed supporters of the governing March 14 coalition the previous day, were driving out of Beirut's seaside front and other areas.
In their place, Lebanese soldiers were seen patrolling the streets.
Mustafa Allouch, a member of parliament, said Hezbollah's decision to withdraw its fighters is a good start.
"What is important for us is to stop the bloodshed that Hezbollah has started," he said.
"Our priority now is to stop the killing, and to withdraw all the militias off the streets."
The developments in Beirut came as reports from northern Lebanon spoke of the deaths of at least 14 people in clashes.
Dozens of people have been killed since Wednesday in the worst clashes in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war.
According to a Lebanese security official, fighting in the town of Halba in the Akkar region pitted a party allied with the opposition against government supporters.
"The headquarters of the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP) in Halba fell to the Future Movement forces," the official said, referring to the party of Saad Hariri, the leader of the March 14 camp and son of Rafiq al-Hariri, the assassinated former Lebanese prime minister.
The official said that seven people were found dead inside.
Siniora's message
Earlier on Saturday, Siniora, speaking from the parliament palace in his first public response to opposition fighters' takeover of west Beirut, appealed to the army to impose security throughout the country.
He called on the military to remove armed men from the streets and restore law and order, even as he accused Hezbollah of carrying out an "armed coup" against Lebanon.
Siniora said the Lebanese government could no longer accept Hezbollah freely holding on to its arms and said its takeover of west Beirut was a "poisonous sting".
He said the government would not bow to force but would seek "dialogue through government institutions - not outside this, or through violence".
However, he said the "status quo" was "no longer acceptable".
Siniora also called on all Lebanese people to observe a minute's silence on Sunday to commemorate those killed in the clashes over the last four days.
The governing coalition on Friday described the takeover of west Beirut by opposition fighters as an attempt to bring Syria back into the country and serve Iran's interests.
'No status quo'
Rula Amin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Beirut, said: "Siniora made an appeal when he said that the status quo that Hezbollah has enjoyed so far is not acceptable any more.
"These are very uncompromising words.
"These words Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, is not going to be happy to hear because he had already made it clear that no one is to target the Hezbollah weapons, that is an issue outside discussions."
Amin noted that Siniora described Beirut's condition as "occupied" and "besieged" - strong words that would appeal not only to Lebanese inside and outside the country but also to the mostly Sunni population in the Arab world.
"He is trying to indicate that Shias were occupying the Sunni capital. What he is trying to do is trying to win the public relations campaign. He wants to put more pressure on Hezbollah," she said.
Commenting on Siniora's speech, Hisham Jaber, a former Lebanese army general, told Al Jazeera: "For Hezbollah to give the government its weapons is a joke - the opposition does not trust this government."
Jaber said: "The army would risk being divided and they are not prepared to defend any government. The army is not supposed to protect the government".
Funeral attacked
Siniora's speech came shortly after at least six people were reported to have been killed when unidentified armed men opened fire on a funeral procession for a pro-government supporter in Beirut on Saturday.
The attack took place after people had ventured out in small numbers to streets, occupied by both Lebanese troops and groups of opposition armed men.
Witnesses in the area said a car drove close by and opened fire on about 200 mourners at Tarik Jadideh cemetery near an area controlled by opposition forces.
On the diplomatic front, Arab foreign ministers is to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the political crisis, the Cairo-based Arab League has said.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt, both of which back Lebanon's government, had called for an Arab foreign ministers' meeting.
Re: Violence escalates between Sunni and Shia in Beirut
my entire family is in saida. alhamdulillah my cousin got out of beirut and is back home but its like nowhere is safe....
