Six killed in Beirut clashes as tensions soar over port blast investigation

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An army soldier carries a schoolchild as civilians flee after gunfire erupted erupted in Beirut. (Reuters)
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Updated 16 October 2021
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Six killed in Beirut clashes as tensions soar over port blast investigation

  • Rocket-propelled grenades and sniper shots fired
  • People trapped in homes, shops and schools

BEIRUT: At least six people were killed in Beirut on Thursday amid a protest organized by Hezbollah and its allies against the lead judge probing last year’s blast at the city’s port. 

Dozens were wounded in the most protracted street fighting in the city in years.

The protest, called by Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, was demanding the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar from the investigation. 

But it turned into armed clashes between the groups’ supporters and armed men whose political identity was unknown.

Rocket-propelled grenades and sniper shots were fired during the protest that people called a “genocide against them.” Among the dead was a woman shot in the head while she was sitting in her house.

Serious material damage was also reported in the area, according to preliminary reports from the Lebanese Red Cross.

People were trapped inside houses and shops, while hundreds of students were stuck inside their schools near the violence-hit area. 

The clashes lasted around three hours, with the Lebanese army failing in its attempts to contain the situation.

The injured and trapped made calls to be evacuated.

Students in schools rushed to the hallways separating classrooms. Several were injured by shattered glass and were taken to hospital.

Lebanon's army said on Thursday evening that it arrested nine people, including a Syrian, over the violence. 
The army said on Twitter that it remained deployed in the area to ensure violence did not occur again.

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Supporters of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement showed up on Thursday at around 10.30 a.m. in response to a call for a peaceful demonstration outside the Justice Palace to protest against measures taken by Bitar that Hezbollah had objected to.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened a few days ago to remove Bitar from the probe.

The protest was called in an attempt to silence Bitar, who issued an arrest warrant against former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, a member of Amal. 

The duo accuses Bitar of bias and singling out politicians for questioning, most of them allied with Hezbollah. Speaking Monday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused Bitar of using “the blood of victims to serve political interests" while demanding that the investigation be headed by a  “transparent judge."

Most protesters wore black shirts. Some wore masks to cover their faces. They chanted slogans against Bitar and in support of Nasrallah and the head of the Amal Movement, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Some carried the flags of the two parties. Others carried the Lebanese flag. The army took tough measures to prevent the situation from further escalating in an area already considered sensitive on a security and political level.

As they reached the Tayouneh roundabout, and as they were heading to Sami Al-Solh Street on their way to the Justice Palace, they were fired at by snipers from rooftops of buildings, according to a witness.

Duha, who was standing at the roundabout watching the protest, told Arab News: “A person suddenly fell on the ground and was covered in his own blood and people started running in all directions when bullets started raining.”

Protesters panicked and started running in all directions. 

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Armed members emerged and fired shots at the building. Clashes broke out and B7-RPG anti-tank grenades were launched, targeting the buildings between Shiyah and Ain Al-Remaneh.

Protesters concluded their protest outside the Justice Palace, while the Tayouneh area turned into a war zone. Neighboring buildings were rocked by the missiles and the Lebanese watched the exchange of fire and people being killed live on TV.

A military source told Arab News that “calls were immediately made to contain the situation and prevent an escalation” but the violence continued despite the army’s threats to “open fire against any armed person on the road.”

The clashes ended at around 3 p.m. The army urged citizens to evacuate the streets and arrested several armed men.

A source close to Hezbollah and the Amal Movement said: “What happened in Tayouneh cannot be tolerated.”

The two Shiite parties later issued a joint statement: “When the participants in the peaceful demonstration arrived at Tayouneh, they were attacked by snipers from rooftops, followed by a heavy fire resulting in deaths and injuries. Gunshots targeted the heads.”

They accused groups from the Lebanese Forces party that were present in nearby neighborhoods and on rooftops of using sniper rifles to kill people and “willfully drag the country into a deliberate strife.”

They called on the army “to take responsibility and intervene to stop those criminals,” while also urging their supporters to “remain calm and not to be dragged into this vicious strife.”

The leader of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, condemned the events. “The main reason behind them is the lack of gun control threatening the lives of citizens at any moment and any place,” he said.

He called for “full and accurate investigations” to determine what had happened.

The dead and wounded were taken to hospital. But injuries were not limited to one side, with civilians from all religious sects hurt. 

There were fires in properties and old men and women were evacuated.

Tensions extended to sensitive areas in the Bekaa Valley, where armed members supporting Hezbollah and the Amal Movement were seen in convoys waving the parties’ flags.

Officials and politicians rushed to contain the situation and condemn it.

The Central Security Council held an emergency meeting, after which Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi warned: “Civil peace is not to be messed with. The clashes started with gunshots by snipers. Someone was shot in the head, and this is not acceptable. Shooting people in the head is a very dangerous matter. Chaos is not in anyone’s interest. Relevant bodies will start arresting people to allow the law to take its course.”

France on Thursday expressed concern over the deadly unrest and urged all parties to calm the situation.

"France is deeply concerned over the recent hindering of the smooth running of the investigation... and the violence that has occurred in this context. France calls on all parties to bring about a de-escalation," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

On Aug. 4, 2020, some 2750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate blew up in the port of Beirut after being inadequately stored there since 2013, killing more than 200 people and wounding thousands.

* With Agencies


Israel is trying to destabilize Lebanon and Syria: Arab League chief

Updated 42 min 17 sec ago
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Israel is trying to destabilize Lebanon and Syria: Arab League chief

  • Targeted assassinations in Lebanon an unacceptable breach of the ceasefire agreement Israel signed late last year, Aboul Gheit said

CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Saturday accused Israel of trying to destabilize Syria and Lebanon through military provocations, in “flagrant disregard for international legal norms.”

In a statement, Aboul Gheit said that global inaction had further emboldened Israel.

“(T)he wars waged by Israel on the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria have entered a new phase of complete recklessness, deliberately violating signed agreements, invading countries and killing more civilians,” said the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

He said that Israel’s resumption of targeted assassinations in Lebanon was an unacceptable and condemnable breach of the ceasefire agreement it signed with Lebanon late last year. 

Aboul Gheit said that Israel’s actions were driven by narrow domestic agendas at the expense of civilian lives and regional peace.

“It seems that the Israeli war machine does not want to stop as long as the occupation leaders insist on facing their internal crises by exporting them abroad, and this situation has become clear to everyone,” he said.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health’s count last week, more than 50,000 people have been killed and more than 113,200 wounded in Israeli attacks on Palestinian territories in retaliation against the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

In Lebanon, war monitors have said that at least 3,961 people were killed and 16,520 wounded in Israel’s war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement from Oct. 8, 2023 to Nov. 26, 2024.

Syria’s new government accused Israel on April 3 of mounting a deadly destabilization campaign after a wave of strikes on military targets, including an airport, and a ground incursion that killed 13 people in the southern province of Daraa. 


Syrian government says studying Amnesty report on massacres

Updated 05 April 2025
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Syrian government says studying Amnesty report on massacres

Damascus: Syria’s government said late Friday it was “closely following” the findings of a new Amnesty International report urging an investigation into sectarian massacres last month.
Amnesty called on the Syrian government in a report on Thursday to ensure accountability for the massacres targeting the Alawite minority, saying they may constitute war crimes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor has said security forces and allied groups killed more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites, during the violence.
Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) led the offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December, has vowed to prosecute those responsible.
In a statement on Friday, the government said it had been “following closely the Amnesty report” and its “preliminary findings.”
“It is up to the Independent National Commission for Investigation and Fact-Finding to evaluate them, in accordance with the mandate, independence, and broad powers granted to it by presidential decree,” it said.
The Syrian authorities have accused armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking the new security forces.
The government on Friday complained the report failed to note “the broader context of the events.”
It said the violence began with a “premeditated assault” by the “remnants of the previous regime, targeting army and internal security personnel.”
In the ensuing chaos, “acts of retaliation and serious violations occurred,” it said, vowing that these would be investigated and a report issued within a month.


Red Cross warns of continued threat of landmines in Iraq

Updated 05 April 2025
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Red Cross warns of continued threat of landmines in Iraq

  • Organization calls for greater effort to reduce contamination that spans 2,100 sq. km.
  • More than 80 casualties recorded since 2023

LONDON: The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday that landmines and explosive remnants of war continue to pose a severe threat in Iraq, contaminating an estimated 2,100 sq. km.

In a statement issued to coincide with the International Day for Mine Awareness, the organization said landmines from past conflicts, including the Iran-Iraq War and the 2014–17 battle against Daesh, remained a major hazard.

The contamination had resulted in civilian casualties, forced displacement, restricted farmland access and slowed reconstruction efforts, it said.

Between 2023 and 2024, the ICRC recorded 78 casualties from landmines and remnants of war in Iraq. Earlier this year, three students were killed in an explosion in Abu Al-Khasib, Basra.

The ICRC has appealed for greater efforts to reduce contamination and support mine-affected communities. Clearance operations continue in cooperation with national authorities and humanitarian partners.

The call for action comes at a time when several NATO member states, namely Poland, Finland and the Baltic states, have signaled their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. They cited the growing military threat from Russia as the reason for reconsidering the ban.

Meanwhile, the US, previously the largest funder of global mine clearance efforts, has cut back support due to a foreign aid review under the Trump administration.

Washington had contributed over $300 million annually, covering 40 percent of total international mine action funding, according to the 2024 Landmine Monitor report, which led to major clearance efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Laos.

A State Department official said last month that the US had restarted some global humanitarian demining programs but provided no details.


Hamas says Israeli offensive in Gaza ‘highly dangerous’ for hostages

Updated 04 April 2025
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Hamas says Israeli offensive in Gaza ‘highly dangerous’ for hostages

  • “We have decided not to transfer these (hostages)... but (this situation) is highly dangerous to their lives,” said Abu Obeida

GAZA CITY: Hamas on Friday said Israel’s offensive in Gaza was creating a “highly dangerous” situation for the hostages held there, warning that half of the living captives were in areas where the army had ordered evacuations.
“Half of the living Israeli (hostages) are located in areas that the Israeli occupation army has requested to be evacuated in recent days,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, said in a statement. “We have decided not to transfer these (hostages)... but (this situation) is highly dangerous to their lives.”


Kurdish fighters leave northern city in Syria as part of deal with central government

Updated 04 April 2025
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Kurdish fighters leave northern city in Syria as part of deal with central government

  • The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh
  • The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month

ALEPPO, Syria: Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in the Syrian Arab Republic’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.
The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.
The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.
The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.
Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.
After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.
Kurds made up 10 percent of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.