South Beirut clashes spark deja vu
The recent fighting between young pro-Future Movement Sunni men and pro-Hezbollah Shiite youth raised fears about the eruption of sectarian clashes in Lebanon, as happened on May 7, 2008.
Two groups of young men — one Sunni, the other Shiite — got into a fight July 1 in the Saadiyat area, 20 kilometers (roughly 12 miles) south of Beirut, as young Shiite men hung religious banners in their mosques, which the Sunni youth considered provocative. Had the incident not carried deep connotations and potential dangerous repercussions, it could have just been another ordinary news item.
The first danger of this armed clash — which left seven injured from both sides — is not just that the young men involved belong to the two main conflicting sects in Lebanon and the region, but also that they were partisan members. Some belonged to the pro-Saudi predominately Sunni Future Movement, while others were affiliated with Hezbollah, which is pro-Iran and predominately Shiite.
The second danger of the incident is its location. Saadiyat is located between the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and the entrance to the south, with its capital Sidon. It is not only a residential area, but a passage for both the Future Movement and Hezbollah. The former needs it to ensure continuity of communication with its partisan sectarian base in Sidon and adjacent areas, while the latter considers the area a vital passage to ensure ongoing communications between the Shiite-dominant southern suburbs of Beirut and bordering villages to the south, which is considered a resistance reservoir against Israel.
Both parties are well aware of the importance of imposing control over Saadiyat or any other area located on the coastal road linking Beirut to the south. Whoever controls one part of it will be able to isolate, siege and monopolize the posts of the other, whether in Beirut or the south. This is the reason that the Future Movement and Hezbollah are aware that losing control of this area could have devastating consequences.
