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Lebanon crisis defused, for now

— Photo: AFP

Classes resume: Students in a classrooom in Beirut on Friday.

Lebanon’s immediate crisis has been defused after Arab mediation forged an agreement staving off the danger of civil war between the western-backed government and Hezbollah. But the underlying deadlock remains.

Talks between the two sides are to continue in the Qatari capital Doha, with the ambitious aim of reaching a deal to end months of political paralysis.

Beirut airport, blockaded for a week, was being reopened last night after Sheikh Naim Qassim, deputy leader of the Iranian-backed Shia militia, pledged to return the situation “to normal”. Ordinary Lebanese expressed relief at the easing of tensions that brought reminders of a bloody past.

Agreement was reached after a climbdown on two issues by Fuad Siniora, Sunni Prime Minister. Last week he challenged Hezbollah by sacking the head of security at Beirut airport, allegedly a sympathiser, and calling its private communications network illegal. Hezbollah insisted its communications were an essential part of its ability to fight Israel. The government tried to save face by saying it was placing the two issues in the hands of the Lebanese Army, a neutral force which failed to intervene in last week’s clashes, with at least 80 dead and 250 injured in the worst internecine fighting since the 1975-90 civil war. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

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