9 people were killed in Hezbollah-led rioting in Beirut.
Blacksmiths of Lebanon reported that Hezbollah rioters started shooting at the Lebanese troops:
Riots started out in the Chiyyah area with road closures and burning tires. Upon deploying to the area, the Army came under fire from unidentified gunmen. A firefight broke out and one Amal official was killed. Riots are now being reported in other Shiite suburbs around Beirut with the latest development being (you guessed it) a closure of the Airport road with burning tires.
The attacks on our institutions continue with the aim of dismantling the Lebanese state and replacing it with a quasi-Syrian province [slash] Iranian paramilitary front.
Hezbollah protesters threw a grenade at a group of people who asked them to leave their neighborhood.
Lebanese protesters burn tyres during a demonstration over power cuts in the southern suburb of Beirut. At least seven people were killed on Sunday when protests over power cuts exploded into violence in the mainly Shiite southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut. (AFP/Anwar Amro)
Hezbollah thugs attacked the Ain el-Remmaheh (Christian) neighborhood of Beirut today.
9 people are dead.
The Ouwet Front reported:
Hezbollah & Amal thugs attacked Ain el Remmaneh tonight and caused 7 injuries so far.
They burned cars, threw stones at houses and threw a hand grenade at a group of people asking them to leave.
7 were injured, two with serious injuries and the others light injuries.
As reported on LBC, the group was holding Amal & Hezbollah flags and the local residents were asking the army to interfer but they did not on time.I am happy that Ain el Remmaneh residents are acting responsably, this is not the first time such a thing happens, but in the same time, it is becoming intolerable…
Reporting for Hezbollah, the Associated Press is blaming the clashes on power cuts:
Hundreds of Shiite Muslims opposed to the government rioted and burned tires, blocking some major roads in the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs.
Lebanese soldiers fired into the air to disperse the crowd, but it was unclear how the deaths occurred and whether the soldiers also intentionally fired on civilians.
The army said it was investigating, and Lebanese TV stations reported that unknown snipers may have been involved in an attempt to inflame the disturbances.
Lebanese soldiers run for cover during clashes with protesters in the Beirut suburbs January 27, 2008. (REUTERS/Houssam Shbaro)
Lebanese Shi’ite Muslims burn tyres during a protest in the Beirut suburbs January 27, 2008. Four Lebanese opposition supporters were shot dead in Beirut on Sunday during protests against power cuts, raising tensions in a country gripped by a political crisis. (REUTERS/Khalil Hassan)
Ya Libnan reported on the clashes and the victims of the violence:
The protests later expanded to:
– Gallerie Semaan area in east Beirut
– Mar Elias neighborhood in Beirut
– Ain el Rommaneh , a Christian suburb in East Beirut
– Sidon ( Saida) Road
– Beirut Airport road
– Nabatiyeh in south Lebanon
– Sidon ( Saida ) – Tyre ( Sour) main road in south Lebanon– Ahmad Hassan Hamze 35, a Shiite Amal official was the first killed in the protests today. Initial reports said he was killed by sniper fire.
– The name of the second victim who was killed in the protests is Yousef Shukair. Shukair was transferred to Bahman, an Iranian hospital located in the Ghubairi area, a suburb of Beirut and a stronghold of Hezbollah and Amal.
– The identity of the rest of the victims has not been revealed yet, but according to unconfirmed reports all but one of the victims were Hezbollah supporters.
