University riots escalate conflict in Lebanon
Evan Duffy
Issue date: 2/1/07 Section: World Views
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An argument between pro-government Sunni Muslims and supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah opposition movement led to riots and violence at a university in Beirut last Thursday. Students attacked each other with sticks, stones, and even pieces of furniture, escalating political turmoil in Lebanon. One source reports that two Shiite students and two other participants were killed, while one-hundred people were injured by gunfire. Another source reports two deaths and up to thirty-five wounded. These reports differ, but the message is clear: the Lebanese government's inability to contain violence between the two opposing groups could ultimately result in a deadly civil war.
Though the conflict originated in the university cafeteria, Sunni supporters surrounded the campus when university security disbanded the fight. It did not take long for the riot to spill into the surrounding streets, located in the Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Tarik el-Jadideh. Local residents soon joined in the uprisings; many took the law into their own hands, battling the police with makeshift weapons, such as chair legs, metal pipes, and garden tools. After hours of bloodshed, the army was called in when the local police could not suppress the riots. Soldiers fired tear gas and live fire into the air in attempt to disperse the crowd.
To make matters more complicated, the central problems originate within the government. Hezbollah, a military and political organization in Lebanon, issued a statement following the riots in order to prevent further sectarian violence. The statement accused pro-government factions of initiating the uprisings and called on its followers to stay out of the streets to avoid violent government supporters. Hezbollah is a Shiite organization, whose literal translation means "Party of God." The group holds seats in the Lebanese government, a radio and television station, and creates programs for social development. The leader of the political majority and leading Sunni opponent of Hezbollah, Saad Hariri, also urged his own supporters to restrain from further violence.
Though the conflict originated in the university cafeteria, Sunni supporters surrounded the campus when university security disbanded the fight. It did not take long for the riot to spill into the surrounding streets, located in the Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Tarik el-Jadideh. Local residents soon joined in the uprisings; many took the law into their own hands, battling the police with makeshift weapons, such as chair legs, metal pipes, and garden tools. After hours of bloodshed, the army was called in when the local police could not suppress the riots. Soldiers fired tear gas and live fire into the air in attempt to disperse the crowd.
To make matters more complicated, the central problems originate within the government. Hezbollah, a military and political organization in Lebanon, issued a statement following the riots in order to prevent further sectarian violence. The statement accused pro-government factions of initiating the uprisings and called on its followers to stay out of the streets to avoid violent government supporters. Hezbollah is a Shiite organization, whose literal translation means "Party of God." The group holds seats in the Lebanese government, a radio and television station, and creates programs for social development. The leader of the political majority and leading Sunni opponent of Hezbollah, Saad Hariri, also urged his own supporters to restrain from further violence.
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