Lebanon

BEIRUT, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Lebanon's parliament voted on Tuesday to hold legislative elections on March 27, giving Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government only a few months to try to secure an IMF recovery plan amid a deepening economic meltdown.

Lebanon's financial crisis, which the World Bank labelled one of the deepest depressions of modern history, had been compounded by political deadlock for over a year before Mikati put together a cabinet alongside President Michel Aoun.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader declared for the first time on Monday that his powerful militant group has 100,000 trained fighters. His speech appeared to be meant as a deterrent to domestic foes following the nation’s worst internal violence in years.

19 Oct 2021; MEMO: Worsening sectarian tensions in Lebanon are testing an alliance between Shia Hezbollah and its Christian ally, President Michel Aoun, who may lose ground to their rivals as they step up opposition to the Iran-backed group's influence, Reuters reports.

Analysts believe divisions that have deepened since an outbreak of violence in Beirut last week may play to the political advantage of Aoun's long-time Christian adversary, Samir Geagea, a Hezbollah opponent with close Saudi ties.

BEIRUT, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Worsening sectarian tensions in Lebanon are testing an alliance between Shi'ite Hezbollah and its Christian ally President Michel Aoun, who may lose ground to their rivals as they step up opposition to the Iran-backed group's influence.

Analysts believe divisions that have deepened since an outbreak of violence in Beirut last week may play to the political advantage of Aoun's long-time Christian adversary, Samir Geagea, a Hezbollah opponent with close Saudi ties.

BEIRUT, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Lebanon's top Christian cleric, Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, said on Sunday that the judiciary should be free of political interference and sectarian "activism" amid tensions over a probe into last year's blast at Beirut port.

The Maronite patriarch also said it was unacceptable for anyone to resort to threats or violence. In Lebanon's worst street violence in over a decade, seven people were shot dead last week as protesters headed to a rally opposing the inquiry.

BEIRUT, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Lebanon prepared to bury the victims of its deadliest sectarian unrest in years after gunfire gripped central Beirut for hours and revived the ghosts of the civil war.

  Six people were killed and dozens wounded Thursday when violence erupted following a rally by Shiite protesters demanding the removal of the judge investigating last year’s devastating Beirut port blast.

15 Oct 2021; MEMO: Hezbollah said today it would not be dragged into a civil war, a day after seven Shia were killed in Beirut's bloodiest street violence in more than a decade, Reuters reports.

15 Oct 2021; MEMO: The United States will offer $67 million in additional support to the Lebanese army, bringing Washington's total support in 2021 to $187 million, US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in Beirut yesterday.

14 Oct 2021; MEMO: At least six people have been killed in clashes which broke out in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, following on from a protest organised by Shia groups against the ongoing inquiry into the huge blast last year that killed over 200.

14 Oct 2021; MEMO: Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, vowed that those who were responsible for the violence that erupted on Thursday in Beirut will be held accountable, as reported by Reuter's.

In a televised speech after shootings that killed six people, Aoun said it was "unacceptable that weapons are, once more, the means of communication among Lebanese rivals".

"I have made contact with the relevant parties today to address what happened and, most importantly, to make sure that it never happens again."