Army ups Beirut presence

MIDDLE EAST TIMES

AMMAN, Jordan — Lebanon’s army, facing intense criticism for failing to intervene during six days of fighting between Hezbollah and pro-government militias, established a strong presence yesterday in Beirut, Tripoli and the Chouf Mountains overlooking Beirut.

Amid an uneasy calm, the army warned it would begin confiscating weapons after avoiding gunbattles between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and fighters loyal to the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

“Army units will prevent any violation, whether by individuals or groups, in accordance with the law — even if this is going to lead to the use of force,” the army said.

Both the government coalition and the opposition have agreed on army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman as the “consensus” presidential candidate to fill the post that has been vacant since November.

However, both sides have repeatedly failed to come to terms on the makeup of the next government and the powers each of Lebanon’s sectarian factions will wield.

Police put the casualty toll at 62 people dead and almost 200 injured. However, the actual figure was believed to be higher in the worst strife the country has seen since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

President Bush and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal both accused Iran, a major patron and financier of Hezbollah, of fueling the Lebanese conflict and attempting to undermine Mr. Siniora’s pro-Western government.

Mr. Bush told BBC Arabic TV that Iran was “the crux of many of the problems in the Middle East,” and that Hezbollah “would be nothing without Iranian support.”

The Lebanese army, made up of soldiers from the country’s various Muslim and Christian communities, has been under a microscope since the fighting broke out.

Many in Lebanon see the military as the only national institution that the rival pro- and anti-Western camps respect and the only force capable of averting a total collapse.

But the army refused to act when Hezbollah militants briefly seized control of large parts of Beirut last week, including the offices of leading Sunni politician Saad Hariri.

Paul Salem, director of the Middle East Center for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the army faced a difficult dilemma if it took on Hezbollah directly.

“The army defended its inaction by admitting that if it engaged in internal political battles it would be in danger of splitting along sectarian lines, and that it needed to remain neutral among the competing factions,” Mr. Salem noted.

Although the Lebanese army is in need of equipment, analysts say, it will accept U.S. military assistance only to maintain peace, not on the condition that it act against Hezbollah.

The disarmament order came as the pro-Western ruling coalition complained the army was not doing enough to end the opposition’s violent campaign.

Mr. Hariri, in his first public comments since the violence broke out, vowed yesterday to resist what he called a bid by Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian backers to dictate government policy in Lebanon.

“They simply are demanding that we surrender. They want Beirut to raise white flags. This is impossible,” Mr. Hariri said.

Hezbollah and its allies in the Shi’ite Amal movement, headed by parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, began to withdraw their gunmen from the streets of Beirut Sunday — only after the army suspended two government decisions that had triggered Hezbollah’s protest in the first place.

After fierce battles with pro-government gunmen, the opposition militia quickly handed to the army their hostages, weapons, and offices they raided. This led some critics to say the military was in collusion with Hezbollah.

Mr. Bush, who leaves today on a trip to the Middle East, said he would focus on Lebanon in his talks with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

• Staff writer David R. Sands in Washington contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.