LEBANON: Frightening festival of gunfire

One could be excused for believing that a civil war is under way in Lebanon.

On Friday, a flurry of automatic-weapons fire rattled across the skies of Beirut the instant after Hezbollah' chief Hassan Nasrallah concluded a speech to honor the "martyrs" of the Shiite Muslim militant group, including Imad Mughniyah.

Such "applause by gunfire" has become a habit. Every time an important political figure starts or ends a televised speech, his supporters express their approval by firing into the air.

In the last weeks, average Lebanese have been terrorized by prolonged gunfire marking declarations by a leader in the opposite political camp, Saad Hariri, son of the slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. There were media reports that at least one person was injured and property damaged.

This ritual has long existed in Lebanon, but the country is so tense that violence can erupt at any moment. Last Saturday, clashes between followers of the country's feuding parties broke out along many streets of Beirut, and a dozen people were hurt. In the end the army was capable of containing the violence.

The streets have calmed, but a political deadlock is keeping everyone on edge. Lebanon has been without a president and under a caretaker government since November. Politicians have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement that would pave the way for a new Cabinet.

— Raed Rafei in Beirut

Photo: Thousands of people, most of them Shiite Muslims, gather on the streets Friday as they watch a televised speech by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Beirut's southern suburb. Afterward, supporters shook the city with celebratory gunfire. Credit: AFP PHOTO/MAZEN AKL

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