The conflict in Beirut on Thursday intensified mutual accusations. Hezbollah and the Lebanese Force Party issued statements successively accusing each other of being responsible for these bloody incidents.
Samir Jaga, the leader of the Lebanese Forces Party, described the conflict — which took place in the Tayouneh area (located in the southern part of the capital) and resulted in 7 deaths — as a mini-Christian version of the May 7, 2008 incident. Hezbollah Part of Beirut was controlled in the above incident.
Samir Jaga said in a dialogue with local media on Friday night that it is necessary to take action with Christians to counter the so-called “Hezbollah’s attempt to stifle the investigation of the Beirut Port bombing.”
But at the same time, he denied that his party planned the violence in the Tayouneh area.
Pre-event meeting
Samir Jaga emphasized that the day before the incident, the meeting held by the leaders of his party was entirely political and aimed to discuss options for action if Hezbollah successfully dismissed the judicial investigator of the Beirut port bombing.
He added that the person responsible for what happened to the Beirut protesters is the one who led them to that place.
Earlier, a Hezbollah leader gave a speech at a funeral for the victims of the conflict on Friday, blaming the Lebanese Party for what happened.
Hashim Safi Al Din, chairman of the Hezbollah Executive Committee, said that what happened was an ambush against civilians and the purpose of what happened was to incite a rebellion. He accused the Lebanese Forces of planning a “new” at the request of the United States. Civil War” and claimed that the Lebanese Forces Party received funding from Arab political parties.
Hashim emphasized that Hezbollah will not be involved in the civil war, but at the same time it will not let the blood of the martyrs go in vain.
The incident began with a mass shooting in a demonstration organized by supporters of the “Hezbollah” group and the “Amal” movement (Shia). The demonstration condemned Tarek, the chief investigator of the bombing in Beirut port. Judge Tarek Bitar’s ruling and request to dismiss the judge.
Despite the rapid deployment of troops in the area, the conflict with machine guns and heavy artillery shells lasted about 5 hours in an area tens of meters away from the Lebanese Palace of Justice, which was during the civil war (1975-1990). One of the front lines is the Tayouneh area located between the Chiyah area, where the Shiite majority is and the Ain al-Rummaneh area, where the Christian majority is.
The conflict caused 7 deaths, most of which belonged to the Hezbollah and Amal movement, and resulted in more than 30 injuries. Among the dead was a woman who was a mother of five children. She was shot in the head while at home.
19 arrested
According to official media reports, as part of a preliminary investigation, Lebanese security services arrested 19 people involved in the conflict.
On Friday, the media reported that the military justice department assigned the military intelligence department to conduct preliminary and on-the-spot investigations, and requested the Ministry of National Security and Public Security and the Information Department of the Internal Security Forces to conduct necessary investigations.
The media also reported that the military justice department also required a full investigation of all surveillance cameras in the area to determine the identity of all gunmen on both sides.
At the same time, Al Jazeera reporter Catherine Hanna reported that Lebanon is worried that these incidents will affect the work of Najib Mikati’s government.
Catherine Hanna added that in this case, it is not clear whether Mikati can convene a cabinet meeting, and the government faces the threat of paralysis approximately one month after its establishment.
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