Two Killed in Clashes Between Hezbollah and Christian Villagers in Lebanon

Clashes between Hezbollah forces and a number of residents of the Christian village of Kahalé near Beirut left two dead on Wednesday. The confrontation occurred after a Hezbollah truck overturned on a downhill curve on the main road from Damascus to Beirut, resulting in the death of a Christian villager and a member of the Iran-affiliated militia. Both sides accuse each other of initiating the deadly conflict. This is the most severe confrontation between Hezbollah and its Lebanese opponents in two years. Lawmakers from the Christian group 'Lebanese Forces,' which opposes Hezbollah, accuse the Iran-backed group of transporting weapons via the truck. Hezbollah issued a statement claiming the truck belonged to them and that 'militants' in the area attacked its occupants. According to Hezbollah's statement, one person 'was injured while protecting the truck' and later died. The group did not specify what the truck's cargo was. However, lawmakers from the 'Lebanese Forces' claim that 'an armed group' accompanying the truck opened fire on civilians, resulting in the death of a 64-year-old Christian villager from Kahalé. The son of the deceased stated that he approached the truck with his father after it overturned, but at least three people opened fire on them with a machine gun and pistol from a distance of one meter. Lebanese TV networks MTV and Al-Jadeed aired footage of plainclothes individuals shooting. Al-Jadeed also released images of Lebanese soldiers present around the truck at night, using a crane to collect wooden boxes from around it. The contents of the boxes were not visible in the images. Najib Mikati, the interim Prime Minister of Lebanon, stated that he spoke with Joseph Aoun, the army commander, and called for 'calm and wisdom' among Lebanese citizens while official investigations into the incident are conducted. Hezbollah was established in 1982 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is currently the most powerful group in Lebanon. The group, backed by Iran, has had several direct confrontations with Israel and supported Bashar al-Assad in the bloody suppression of Syrian protesters following the outbreak of the civil war. The United States designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 and as a specially designated global terrorist group in 2001. Several countries, including the UK, Slovenia, Latvia, and Australia, have also recognized Hezbollah in its entirety—as both its political and military branches—as a terrorist organization.