Iran proxies seize Beirut neighborhoods

Washington Post:

Gunmen from the Shiite Hezbollah movement seized control of several downtown Beirut neighborhoods Friday as the number of people killed in three days of fighting rose to at least 11.

Hezbollah militants, some carrying assault rifles or rocket-propelled grenade launchers, patrolled outside Starbucks and other shops in the mostly deserted commercial strips of neighborhoods normally controlled by Sunnis loyal to the U.S.-backed Lebanese government. Masked armed men in civilian clothes set up checkpoints and asked passersby for their identity cards, and Hezbollah forces briefly surrounded the homes of Saad Hariri, Lebanon's top Sunnni lawmaker, and Walid Jumblatt, his Druse ally.

Although government troops soon arrived to guard the politician's residences, and the Hezbollah gunmen stood down, the Associated Press reported that a satellite television station affiliated with Hariri was forced off the air, and the office of his party's newspaper was set on fire.

Friday's gains by Hezbollah came a day after the leader of the movement accused the government of declaring war on his party.The clashes took on a sectarian cast as mainly Shiite opposition members battled predominantly Sunni supporters of the government. Shiite gunmen tore down posters of Hariri in neighborhoods where he enjoys strong support, the AP reported, and roamed unopposed through streets normally dominated by government supporters.

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The coincidence of this happening while Iran's proxies in Iraq are losing is worth noting. It is possibly an attempt to create pressure elsewhere in the Middle East in hopes of relieving it in Baghdad. It should be noted that this is part of Iran's strategic thinking and the Baghad operations began by the Mahdi Militia were done to relieve pressure on Basra. That failed, and has resulted on even greater pressure in the Sadr City area of Baghdad where the militia is losing badly.

Iran has said that its strategy should the US attack Iran will be to stir up the kind of mischief we now see in Beirut. The Hezballah pawns have been moved into play as fear of a US attack on Iran grows.