Lebanon tense as efforts mount to contain crisis

Turkey's FM, Qatari PM in Beirut to find way out of Lebanon crisis following spat over STL.

Middle East Online

By Natacha Yazbeck - BEIRUT

Will the 'in-depth and useful' talks bridge the STL divide? Fears of violence gripped Lebanon on Tuesday as diplomatic efforts mounted to contain a growing crisis that saw some schools close, a day after a UN prosecutor filed charges in the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri. Dozens of unarmed men gathered in several neighbourhoods in west Beirut early on Tuesday in a show of force that prompted panicked parents to pull their children from classes and some schools to shut down for the day. A security official said the gatherings "may signal preparations to mobilise in relation to the indictment." The men had gathered in areas "where (Shiite parties) Hezbollah and Amal have a presence" and dispersed after about an hour, he said on condition of anonymity. The army deployed heavily across the capital in an attempt to "reassure citizens", an army spokesman said. But many residents preferred to remain indoors, fearing a sudden outbreak of violence as a rift deepens between rival Lebanese camps over the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). "I was having my coffee this morning when I heard on television that men were gathering on the airport road, and I panicked," said Lena al-Fata, who lives in a suburb of Beirut. "I told my daughter not to go to classes today and called my son who had gone to his office near the airport," said the 48-year-old mother of two. "When he didn't pick up, I imagined the worst. Our nerves are totally frayed. We cannot take this anymore." A long-running dispute over the STL between Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah and pro-Western Saad Hariri -- son of the slain Rafiq -- took a turn for the worse Wednesday when the Shiite militant party forced the collapse of Hariri's unity government. Less than one week later, STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare submitted a confidential indictment to a pre-trial judge for review. The charge sheet will reportedly implicate Hezbollah in the Hariri murder. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who has accused the STL of being under US-Israeli control, has warned his party would not stand idle should the court implicate any of its members. But court registrar Herman von Hebel said the case may go to trial by September regardless of whether any arrests had been made. Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jaber al-Thani met President Michel Sleiman on Tuesday in an attempt to find a way out of the crisis. A brief statement released by Sleiman's office described the talks as "in-depth and useful." The two also met Hariri and parliament speaker Nabih Berri but did not make any statements after either meeting. The crisis was also the centre of talks between Turkish, Qatari and Syrian leaders in Damascus on Monday as well as an Ankara meeting between Davutoglu and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi. Lebanon's army commander Jean Kahwaji, who has raised concerns of a security breakdown, traveled to Syria on Tuesday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad. The diplomatic efforts are reportedly focused on reviving a failed Syrian-Saudi bid to find a compromise on the STL between Hariri and Hezbollah. Berri, a staunch Hezbollah ally, issued a veiled warning on Tuesday saying that a new phase had begun after the submission of Bellemare's indictments. "The opposition had clearly said that the period following the indictments will be different from the one prior," Berri told local daily As-Safir, which is close to Hezbollah. "As of yesterday we entered a new phase, a phase of implementation."