BEIRUT,  (Reuters)  By Maha El Dahan and Laila Bassam – Lebanon’s parliament voted on Tuesday to hold legislative elections on March 27, giving Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government only a few months to try to secure an IMF recovery plan amid a deepening economic meltdown. Lebanon’s financial crisis, which the World Bank labelled one of the deepest depressions of modern history, had been compounded by political deadlock for over a year before Mikati put together a cabinet alongside President Michel Aoun. The currency has lost 90% of its value and three-quarters of the population have been propelled into poverty. Shortages of basic goods such as fuel and medicines have made daily life a struggle. Mikati, whose cabinet is focused on reviving talks with the International Monetary Fund, had vowed to make sure elections are held with no delay and Western governments urged the same.

After a meeting with an executive director at the IMF on Tuesday, Mikati said his government had compiled necessary financial data for the fund. “We hope to complete a cooperation programme before the end of this year,” Mikati was quoted in a statement by his office as saying after a meeting with the IMF’s Mahmoud Mohieldin in Beirut. But a row over the probe into last year’s Beirut port blast that killed over 200 people and destroyed large swathes of the capital is threatening to veer his cabinet off course. Some ministers, aligned with politicians that lead investigator Judge Tarek Bitar is seeking to question over the explosion, last week demanded that the judge be removed from the probe. Mikati has since said the cabinet will not convene another meeting until an agreement is reached on how to deal with the crisis.

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BEIRUT by Tom Perry; Editing by Giles Elgood (Reuters) – Worsening sectarian tensions in Lebanon are testing an alliance between Shi’ite Hezbollah and its Christian ally President Michel Aoun, who may lose ground to their rivals as they step up opposition to the Iran-backed group’s influence. Analysts believe divisions that have deepened since an outbreak of violence in Beirut last week may play to the political advantage of Aoun’s long-time Christian adversary, Samir Geagea, a Hezbollah opponent with close Saudi ties. The alliance between the heavily armed Hezbollah and Aoun has been a defining feature of Lebanese politics since 2006: Hezbollah helped Aoun become president in 2016, while Aoun has provided important Christian backing for the armed status of the group, which is more powerful than the Lebanese army. But strains have been growing, specifically over Hezbollah’s opposition to the investigation into who was to blame for last year’s catastrophic explosion at the Beirut port, which, while killing many Muslims, did most of its damage in Christian parts of the city.

The dilemma facing Aoun sharpened last week when tensions over the investigation ignited Beirut’s deadliest street violence in years, reviving memories of the 1975-90 civil war. All of the seven dead were Shi’ites, killed in what Hezbollah has called an ambush by the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party led by Geagea. The LF denies this and blames the other side for provoking trouble by sending supporters into the Christian neighbourhood of Ain al-Remmaneh where it says four residents were wounded before a shot was fired. The violence began as supporters of Hezbollah and its Shi’ite ally, Amal, began gathering for a protest to demand the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar, who is investigating the blast that killed more than 200 people. “Today, you have Christians rejecting these scenes of getting back to civil war memories, and at the same time not happy with the way Shia are expressing their opposition to the Judge Bitar process,” said a source familiar with thinking in the Free Patriotic Movement, the party founded by Aoun.

The FPM and Hezbollah had not decided to part ways, but the course of events was separating them, the source said. FPM officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In his first speech since the violence, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the Lebanese Forces saw itself as the protector of Christian blood but Hezbollah was no enemy of Christians. read more Nasrallah said the LF had opposed his party’s understanding with the FPM when it was concluded in 2006 because it did not want Christians and Muslims “to open up to each other”. There was no immediate LF response to Nasrallah’s remarks.

BEIRUT,  (Reuters) – Lebanon’s top Christian cleric, Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, said on Sunday that the judiciary should be free of political interference and sectarian “activism” amid tensions over a probe into last year’s blast at Beirut port. The Maronite patriarch also said it was unacceptable for anyone to resort to threats or violence. In Lebanon’s worst street violence in over a decade, seven people were shot dead last week as protesters headed to a rally opposing the inquiry. “We must free the judiciary from political interference, sectarian and partisan political activism and respect its independence according to the principle of separation of powers,” he said in his sermon. Rai has an influential role as leader of the biggest Christian community in Lebanon, where political power is divided between the main Christian, Muslim and Druze sects.

The inquiry into the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion, which killed more than 200 people and devastated swathes of Beirut, has made little headway amid pushback from political factions. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has called Judge Tarek Bitar — the lead investigator — biased and politicised. read more “The rise in doubts over the (integrity of the) judiciary that has been going for a while has not only undermined the judiciary but also the reputation of Lebanon,” said Rai. Seven Shi’ite Muslims were shot dead on Thursday as crowds headed for a protest against Bitar called by the Iranian-backed Shi’ite Hezbollah group and its Shi’ite ally Amal. The violence added to fears for the stability of a country that is awash with weapons and suffering an economic meltdown. “What happened last week reminds the Lebanese of the start of the cursed civil war and they are not ready to relive it again,” Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi said in a Sunday sermon, local media reported.

Protesters gather in front of the ‘Revolution fist’, symbol of Lebanon’s October 2019 uprising, during a rally in the capital Beirut’s Martyrs Square, on Sunday (AFP photo)

by AFP — BEIRUT — Lebanon marked the second anniversary of its defunct protest movement with a low-key demonstration in Beirut on Sunday, while many stayed away amid grinding economic woes and deadly tensions over a port blast probe. Dozens marched under rain clouds towards Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut, an AFP photographer said. Mass protests bringing together Lebanese from all backgrounds erupted on October 17, 2019, denouncing deteriorating living conditions as well as alleged official graft and mismanagement, after the government announced a plan to tax phone calls made over messaging service WhatsApp. Cross-sectarian demonstrations swept the country, demanding the overthrow of political barons in power since at least the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

Two years on, Lebanon is mired in a ballooning financial crisis compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, and battered by a devastating explosion at Beirut’s port on August 4 last year. Draconian banking restrictions have prevented many Lebanese from accessing their savings, while the local currency has lost more than 90 per cent of its value to the dollar on the black market. Almost 80 per cent of the population live in poverty, struggling to put food on the table amid endless price hikes, fuel shortages and power cuts. Protester Rabih Zein said it was not just previous police crackdowns that had kept demonstrators away on Sunday. “If anyone is wondering why there are not many people, it’s because they’ve deprived us of petrol, electricity and the money we put in banks,” he said. Each person marching represented many more who were forced to stay at home, Zein claimed. “Today is a symbolic stand. God willing, we will move towards change at the parliamentary elections” next spring, said the 37-year-old television producer from the northern city of Tripoli. The protest movement has given birth to a flurry of new political groups, which many hope will run in the upcoming polls.

Oct 17 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon in light of the latest security events, the foreign ministry wrote on Twitter on Sunday. Lebanon remains on a Saudi travel list where obtaining prior permission to visit is required. On Thursday, seven people were killed in violence in Beirut […]

تأتي ذكرى المولد النبوي الشريف هذا العام بعد انتكاسة أمنية تضاف ال النكبة الاقتصادية، كم نتمنى أن تكون عبرةً عابِرَةً فيعود “العيد” على اللبنانيين جميعا بالخير والبركة وبالظروف الحياتية الأفضل وأن يسود  التفاهم والتآخي بيننا جميعًا فلا ندع الفتنة تغلبُ الروح الوطنية الطيّبة. إن دَخلَتِ الرحمةُ القلوب يحلّ الوِئام والسلام “وما أرسلناك إلّا رحمة للعالمين […]

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Members of parliament hid in their homes on Saturday in fear of assassination by Hezbollah gunmen as new turmoil in Lebanon threatened to spiral out of control. Security services advised MPs from the Lebanese Forces party not to venture out amid growing tension over a judicial investigation into the Beirut port explosion in August 2020, which killed more than 200 people and devastated swaths of Beirut. “Yes, this advice was given to the MPs of the Lebanese Forces,” party media chief Charles Jabbour told Arab News. “There is fear of them being exposed to assassination and murder, which Hezbollah has practiced before. The solution requires that Hezbollah hand over its weapons to the state.” The crisis surrounds the investigation being conducted by Judge Tarek Bitar, who wants to question former and serving ministers linked to Hezbollah and the allied Amal Party about their responsibility for the deadly port blast. The ministers claim the judge’s actions are political, and have refused to cooperate.

Tensions erupted into violence last Thursday, when seven people were killed after gunfire erupted during a Hezbollah and Amal protest against the investigation in a mainly Christian area of central Beirut. Justice Minister Henry El-Khoury said on Saturday he supported Judge Bitar, who had the right to summon whoever he wanted in the case. “I stand by the … investigator,” El-Khoury said. He said he did not have the authority to replace Bitar, and faced no pressure to do so. The minister held crisis talks on Saturday to discuss the investigation with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Supreme Judicial Council president Suhail Abboud and public prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat. They decided to invite Bitar to a meeting of the council on Tuesday. “Judge Abboud is committed to judicial, not political, approaches to resolving the problem,” a judicial source told Arab News.

by AFP — The spokesman for relatives of those killed in last year’s Beirut port blast quit on Saturday, following fears he had been intimidated into urging the dismissal of the lead investigator in the case. Shiite movement Hezbollah and allies have accused judge Tarek Bitar of political bias in his probe into the August 4, 2020 explosion that killed more than 210 people. Tensions came to a boil Thursday when seven people were killed in violence following a rally organised by Hezbollah and its ally Amal demanding Bitar’s dismissal. The shootout in central Beirut kept many residents trapped indoors for hours, reviving memories of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.

In a complete U-turn from his previous support for the investigator, Ibrahim Hoteit, a spokesman for the families of the victims, called in a video circulated Friday night for the judge to step down. Many social media users worried that Hoteit, whose brother was killed in the port explosion, had been threatened. In the video, he is seen glancing off camera as he speaks, in what some charge could be a sign of him speaking under duress. But Hoteit told AFP he had spoken only for himself and denied having recorded the video under any pressure. “The only pressure I came under were the events of Thursday and the fear of sliding into civil war,” he said. “I therefore decided to step down as spokesman” for the families. ‘180-degree turn’

Other victims’ relatives, who still support Bitar, said in a statement: “This position… does not represent us at all.” William Noun, whose firefighter brother died in the blast, told AFP that he remained firm in his support and that Hoteit “was without doubt pressured”. Lina Khatib, a senior analyst at the Chatham House think-tank, said the video was “alarming because it is a sudden 180-degree turn from earlier statements… in support of the port probe”. “In the video he appears to be under duress,” she said, and the wording of the statement was unlike his usual language. “All this suggests that Hoteit issued the video statement because he felt pressured to do so.” Top politicians subpoenaed in the blast investigation have launched various legal challenges against Bitar. But the latest court rulings have allowed him to resume the probe, which has been suspended multiple times. Bitar’s predecessor, Fadi Sawan, was removed by a court in February. Topics: Beirut , port blast , Tarek B

By William Christou — english.alaraby.co.uk — Lebanon’s major political forces issued escalatory statements following Thursday’s clashes, which left seven dead and more than 30 wounded. Safi al-Din, one of Hezbollah’s top officials, said that Thursday’s clashes were a result of American and Israeli meddling and warned that Hezbollah was ready to “defend the country.” Al-Akhbar, a magazine aligned with the Shia militia group, put a picture of Samir Geagea dressed as Hitler on its front page – saying that “[Hezbollah] has run out of patience”. Geagea is the leader of the Christian political party and former militia the “Lebanese Forces,” which Hezbollah accused of firing the first shots at yesterday’s protest.

Geagea, by contrast, denied Hezbollah’s claim that the Lebanese Forces fired the first shots on Thursday. Instead, he blamed the “proliferation” of weapons for the day’s violence. The clashes took place at the Tayouneh roundabout along a civil war-era fault line which divided Shia and Christian neighbourhoods. The scenes of huddled schoolchildren and fleeing civilians brought back not-so-distant memories of Lebanon’s civil war and rattled a country already in the throes of a multi-pronged crisis.

Funerals were held for the “martrys” of the clashes, most of whom were gunmen from the Shia Amal movement. Gunfire could be heard throughout Beirut as throngs of men shot rifles into the air in commemoration of their fallen comrades. A more solemn ceremony was held outside the house of Maryam Farhat, a 39-year old woman who was killed in her home by a stray bullet. Farhat’s face circulated social media as Lebanese mourned her death as the embodiment of an innocent civilian caught in the crossfire of a fight between militias. The issue which precipitated the clashes, the Beirut port explosion investigation, has only grown more divisive since Thursday.