Lebanese Army on Alert in Beirut

Monsters and Critics

The Lebanese army was on high alert in the capital Beirut on Monday a day after power cuts protests turned into clashes between opposition followers and the Lebanese army, leaving nine people dead and raising fears of an upcoming civil strife.


Troops were out in force, setting up checkpoints along roads leading from the mainly Shiite neighbourhoods of southern Beirut, a hotbed of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, to Christian areas of the capital.


The scene reminded many Lebanese of the beginning of the 1975-1990 civil war as the first line of demarcation at the time was in the same area.


'This is the same scene we saw in 1975 when the civil war broke out in the streets of Beirut, this is a dangerous reminder,' commented one Christian resident of Ain Roumneh, the area that witnessed heavy violence on Sunday.


'The country is now opened on all options...the situation is taking a downturn,' said analyst Nabil Haythem.


Nine people were killed in Sunday's violence, including activists from the Syrian-backed opposition parties Amal and Hezbollah, hospital sources said about 49 people were also injured.