Beirut witnessed acts of violence and gunfire on Thursday following protests organized by Hezbollah and the Amal Movement regarding the Beirut port case that occurred over a year ago.
**Why are Hezbollah supporters protesting?**
Hezbollah and Amal Movement believe that the investigating judge in the case, Tarek Bitar, is "politicized and biased" and are demanding his dismissal. Bitar wants to interrogate several senior politicians and security officials, including allies of Hezbollah, for negligence that led to the port explosion caused by a large shipment of ammonium nitrate.
**Who called for the protests and where did they take place?**
Supporters of Hezbollah and Amal Movement called for a gathering in front of the Palace of Justice in Beirut to reject the judge's decisions, and the protests were supposed to be limited to lawyers and workers from specific sectors.
**How did the events escalate to violence?**
Weapons quickly appeared at the protests, and snipers were reported on rooftops. Eyewitnesses spoke of intense gunfire, including the use of “RPG” shells in the heart of the Tayouneh area in central Beirut.
**Who carried the weapons?**
Lebanese parties are exchanging accusations of carrying weapons during the protests, while videos showed armed individuals wearing the distinctive black attire of Hezbollah supporters. Conversely, Hezbollah and Amal Movement accused the Lebanese Forces party of instigating the events.
**What was the army's response?**
The Lebanese army dispatched reinforcements to the Tayouneh and Palace of Justice areas in Beirut, warning that its deployed units would fire at any armed individuals on the roads and anyone who fired from other locations. The army called on civilians to evacuate the streets, closed the roads leading to Tayouneh after surrounding it, and began searching for the shooters. A correspondent from "Sky News Arabia" reported that the army fired heavily at a building suspected of housing snipers.
**What did the government do?**
Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for calm and urged everyone not to be drawn into sedition for any reason. He coordinated with army chief Joseph Aoun on the measures being taken by the army to control the situation in the Tayouneh area. Mikati also communicated with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for the same purpose and discussed the situation with the Ministers of Interior Bassam Mawlawi and Defense Maurice Slim, requesting an emergency meeting of the Central Security Council. Mikati was seen alongside Slim and Aoun in a photo from inside the army's operations room to monitor the situation developments.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun contacted Mikati, the ministers of defense and interior, and the army chief, following up on security developments amidst the events in an attempt to address the situation and restore calm to the area.
**Has the tension eased?**
A correspondent from "Sky News Arabia" reported that after hours of tension and gunfire, the situation in Tayouneh is heading toward relative calm. Civil defense forces worked to extinguish fires in the clash area.
