Lebanon: Armed Clashes Between Hezbollah, Christian Villagers Leave 2 Dead

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Facts

  • An armed clash broke out Wednesday between residents of the Christian town of Kahaleh and Hezbollah fighters, leaving one dead on each side, after a truck escorted by the militant group turned over on the highway that links Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley.1
  • Both sides traded blame for the shootout, which erupted after locals gathered around the truck that was reportedly carrying a shipment of ammunition. Ahmed Qassas, the Hezbollah member killed in the clash, was given a military funeral in the southern suburbs of Beirut.2
  • The local Kahaleh resident killed was identified as 64-year-old Fadi Bejjani, whose son claimed that at least three armed Hezbollah members opened fire on local residents inspecting the crashed truck.3
  • In contrast, Hezbollah declared that locals began throwing rocks and eventually opened fire on its members. The Lebanese army intervened soon after the clash broke out, with the Hezbollah fighters quickly withdrawing from the area.4
  • Wednesday's violence is reminiscent of a similar clash in Beirut nearly two years ago that killed seven people, when Hezbollah and allied-Amal Movement demonstrators protesting against a judge investigating the 2020 Beirut port explosion clashed with local Christian gunmen.5
  • Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian-backed armed group and political party, has had increasingly fraught relations with Lebanon's right-wing political parties. Kahaleh is associated with parties that are fiercely opposed to Hezbollah and its large military arsenal.6

Sources: 1Associated Press, 2Reuters (a), 3Middle East Eye, 4The Times of Israel, 5Reuters (b), and 6Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Al Jazeera. Hezbollah, once again, has resorted to thuggish militia tactics to ensure the security of its arms. The Lebanese crisis will only be solved when Hezbollah gives up its weapons and begins to behave like a normal political party. No one wants to see another civil war, but Hezbollah continues to escalate the situation by moving its arms through areas in which the local population is against the group.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Al Mayadeen English. Lebanon's right-wing extremists will do anything to undermine the resistance. Hezbollah has a right to defend its interests, which are shared with all Lebanese as the group is a national movement, and it does not want to see any sort of sectarian conflict. Indeed, Hezbollah has made a serious effort to defend Christians from foreign threats, such as Israel and Jihadist terrorists.

Predictions