Gorilla’s Guides

An unexplained decision by the Lebanese government last month to challenge Hizbullah over its military capabilities provoked a Hizbullah-led alliance of militias to defeat those of the prime minister and a Sunni party. With the election of a new president, Michel Suleiman, the fighting ended, but Hizbullah’s participation in government is a blow for the US.

Read in full: Lebanon’s short, sharp conflict, by Alain Gresh

Hezbollah commemorated the eighth anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day in a huge central festival in Beirut’s southern suburb.

Hundreds of thousands of people flocked from across Lebanon into the Raya playground in the Sfeir region. Representatives of President Michel Suleiman and House Speaker Nabih Berri attended the festival alongside diplomatic, political, religious and Hezbollah figures also took part in the annual event.

Waiving yellow Hezbollah flags, people chanted Lebanese and Hezbollah anthems and challenged US-sponsored allegations that Hezbollah’s popular base has diminished.

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah appeared on a huge screen amid cheers and pledges of allegiance. 

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