Lebanese peace and stability are still out of reach

Lebanese peace and stability are still out of reachBsrama, Lebanon  - Tension returned to the streets of Lebanon on Wednesday, with a village in the country's north turned into yet another battleground.

A day after 14 leaders representing Lebanon's sectarian rivalries began a national dialogue in which they agreed to ease tension, two opposing militias - an anti-Syrian Christian militia calling itself the Lebanese Forces (LF) and a pro-Syrian Christian militia called Marada - clashed.

Two people - LF supporter Pierre Ishaq and Marada's Bsarma leader Youssef Franjieh - were killed. Three others were wounded.

The trigger for the bloodshed was a disagreement over the hanging of political posters.

"The tension and danger are still the same on the streets between the rivals and the worst is yet to come," said George Geagea, a supporter of anti-Syrian Christian leader Samir Geagea.

The anti-Syrian Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh meanwhile delivered an ultimatum to the government over troubles in Bsarma.

"I give the government a 15-day to one-month ultimatum to reveal the truth behind the shooting incident in Bsarma," Franjieh said Wednesday.

Analysts believe that a number of tough issues needing to be tackled at the national dialogue on the second session on November 5 are likely to lead to an increase of such tension on the streets.

One issue is the arsenal possessed by pro-Syrian Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.

"The steps at reconciliation that seek to put an end to the tense security situation in Lebanon have not been fruitful yet, while getting around the thorny issue of Hezbollah arms and the defence strategy seems to be a long uncertain process," Hisham Jaber, a political and military analyst, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"The defence strategy" was something Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called for in his opening speech at the dialogue session on Tuesday.

"A defence strategy means that Hezbollah would share its power with the army, is Hezbollah ready for that?" said Analyst Amin Umoriyeh.

Hezbollah - which as a military organization may be more powerful than the country's army - has made it clear time and again that it will not give up its arms as long as Israel to the south poses a threat to Lebanon.

Further, a six-point statement released after Tuesday's four-hour dialogue vowed to enhance ongoing reconciliation efforts to put an end to all security tension in Lebanon.

But a series of security flare-ups across the country - before, during and after the session - including fierce clashes in the Bekka valley on Tuesday - raised fears that the situation is in fact heading towards escalation.

In May, street clashes between the supporters of the pro-Western government and those of the pro-Syrian opposition led by Hezbollah took the country to the brink of all out war.

"These incidents are not a joke they are alarming and the leaders should be more aware of the danger of the repeated clashes, because situations can easily get out of hand," the analyst Jaber said.

Many other Lebanese agree. "Enough with the talks and sitting around tables - We want tangible results that will end the killing on the streets," said Rima Taouk, a moderate Christian resident of northern Lebanon.

"Many in Lebanon are already skeptical about the outcome of Tuesday's meeting, if only because this country's future has all too often been decided elsewhere," Jaber said.

Jaber expressed the belief that with the big differences in opinion and deep divisions - and with guns still out in the streets - real peace in Lebanon "is still out of reach." (dpa)

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