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Hezbollah Chief: Beirut 'War Has Started'

Posted May 8, 08 3:15 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – What began as a strike yesterday is now “open war” in Lebanon, according to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, CNN reports. Open violence continued for a second day today, with loyalists and opposition fighters clashing after the US-backed government tried to muscle through measures against Hezbollah on Monday, including a crackdown on the Syria- and Iran-friendly group’s communications network.

Nasrallah called for compromise with the government, which has been in crisis for some 17 months, but also issued a warning, the AP reports: “Those who shoot at us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it off.” A government official called the statement “a direct threat of assassination.”

Sources CNN, Associated Press

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A gunman fires during clashes in Beirut.   (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah speaks from his hiding place Thursday.   (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Hezbollah supporters smoke as they sit on debris barriers that block the highway to Lebanon's international airport.   (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese soldiers stand guard, foreground, as opposition activists burn tires during a protest Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)
Opposition activists burn a car during a protest called by labor unions in Beirut on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese soldiers stand guard near burning tires during an opposition protest in Beirut Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)
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Iran • Syria • Lebanon • Hezbollah • sectarian violence • civil war • Fouad Siniora • Saad al-Hariri • Hassan Nasrallah


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