PoliGazette » Fighting Breaks Out Near Beirut

Fighting Breaks Out Near Beirut

Filed under: Middle East — Michael van der Galien, Editor-in-Chief on May 12, 2008 @ 12:26 pm CEST

The situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate. Fierce fighting has now broken out in the mountains east of the country’s capital, Beirut. The fighting is, at this moment, taking place between supporters of the pro-Western government and supporters and members of the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah.

Remarkably, the New York Times actually points out in the article linked to above that Hezbollah is supported by Iran.

So, it is deteriorating in so far that the violence seems to be spreading. However, there is also good news. The situation in Beirut is improving. It appears that Hezbollah’s leaders have told their gunmen to leave the capital. This leads many people to believe and hope that a truce is in the works.

That’s the only good news. The bad news is far worse. As said, the violence is spreading. Especially to villages in the Eastern part of Lebanon. Not only that, however, the good news isn’t very good either considering the fact that many people want the government to accept Hezbollah’s offer for a truce. This offer would be highly beneficial for Hezbollah, and it would be quite bad for the government and therefore for the West.

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