Lebanon's Army to Crack Down on Sectarian Violence
By VOA News
12 May 2008
Lebanon's army says it will use force, beginning Tuesday, to stop the country's worst sectarian fighting since the civil war that ended in 1990.
The army says it will act to stop fighting between pro-government militias and opposition forces led by Hezbollah from 6 a.m. local time Monday.
Lebanon's military has so far stayed out of the violence that began Wednesday in Beirut and has spread to other parts of the country. The fighting has killed at least 61 people and wounded about 200.
Lebanese officials say they expect an Arab League delegation to arrive in Beirut Wednesday to try to mediate an end to the fighting.
On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned those behind the violence and called for a return to dialogue.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Washington is troubled by Hezbollah's influence in Lebanon and said outside forces should not use the country as a pawn. Washington accuses Iran of funding and arming Hezbollah, a charge Tehran denies.
Perino said U.S. President George Bush will discuss the situation in Lebanon with regional leaders during his trip to the Middle East this week.
In another development, Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri said Monday he has postponed a session to elect a new president for the 19th time. The session is now scheduled for June 10.
Lebanon has been in a political stalemate since last year, with the ruling coalition and the opposition unable to pick a new head of state and form a unity government.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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