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The Beirut Arab University shooting happened on January 25, 2007, in the Beirut Arab University in the Lebanese capital. [1]
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2019) |
The Beirut Arab University shooting happened on January 25, 2007, in the Beirut Arab University in the Lebanese capital. [1]
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Four people were shot dead in clashes between pro- and anti-government activists on January 25 and about 200 were hurt in the violence that flared up after a scuffle between students at a Beirut university. The opposition accused the government camp of starting the riots and the four dead included two Hezbollah-affiliated students, who were fired at from rooftops.
Opposition backers said gunmen fired from apartment balconies near the school, wounding several people. Students said the clashes began with a scuffle in the cafeteria of Beirut Arab University and degenerated into a melee as youths in the surrounding Tarik el-Jadideh district moved in.
They threw rocks, set fire to tires to block traffic, torched cars and smashed windshields amid the rattle of gunshots as troops fired into the air to try to disperse the crowds. There were reports of gunfire and pictures showed masked men holding guns and assault-rifles.
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Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah went on TV in the evening to tell followers it was a "religious duty" to get off the streets to allow security forces to keep order.
"I call upon the Lebanese to cooperate with the Lebanese army in all districts to end the tension in this hard and painful hour for all the Lebanese," Nasrallah said in a broadcast audio message.
"I appeal to you in the name of Lebanon and human conscience. It's a pity to waste Lebanon like this," said Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. "It is time we learn from the past."
Parliament majority leader Saad al-Hariri urged his loyalists to show restraint.
"I call on everyone to return to the voice of reason," said Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, speaking from Paris where he was at an aid conference.
United States ambassador Jeffrey Feltman was quick to point the finger at Syria.
"History has shown that outside powers like Syria have done it before. And I can't give you solid evidence, but one can certainly make a pretty strong case that it's Syria's hands at work again," he said on US-funded Al-Hurra television.
MP Walid Jumblatt of the parliamentary majority added voice to Feltman's accusation, saying the fighting was triggered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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The opposition launched nationwide protests on Tuesday which shut down much of Lebanon before being attacked by assailants. The attack sparked violence in which three people were killed and 176 wounded.
The general strike intensified a street campaign that began on December 1 when opposition supporters began camping out near Siniora's offices in downtown Beirut.
They are backing demands for the Western-backed government to give in to the formation of a government of national unity and early parliamentary elections or quit.
Siniora and his main backer, parliamentary majority leader Hariri, have refused to give in to the demands.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. Its armed strength was assessed to be equivalent to that of a medium-sized army in 2016.
Michel Naim Aoun is a Lebanese politician and former general who served as the 13th president of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 to 30 October 2022.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1559, adopted on 2 September 2004, after recalling resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520 (1982) and 1553 (2004) on the situation in Lebanon, the Council supported free and fair presidential elections in Lebanon, urging the Lebanese government to establish control over its territory, disarm militias like Hezbollah, and facilitate the withdrawal of any remaining foreign forces from the country.
The Cedar Revolution, also known as the Independence uprising, was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. The popular movement was remarkable for its avoidance of violence, peaceful approach, and its total reliance on methods of civil resistance.
Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri is a Lebanese businessman and retired politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. The son of Rafic Hariri, he founded and has been leading the Future Movement party since 2007. He is seen as "the strongest figurehead" of the March 14 Alliance.
Fouad Siniora is a Lebanese politician. He served as the 12th prime minister of Lebanon from 2005 to 2009. He served as minister of Finance from 2000 to 2004.
Nassib Lahoud was a Lebanese political figure. He held various posts including Member of parliament, Ambassador to the United States of America, and Minister of State. He was also head of the Democratic Renewal Movement and a leading figure in the March 14 coalition, which nominated him as their presidential candidate when they held the parliamentary majority in 2008. His election was vetoed by Hezbollah and its allies, who refused to attend parliament and threatened not to recognise any president who was not the product of a consensus agreement between Lebanese political forces. President Michel Suleiman was elected to the post on 25 May 2008.
Hezbollah originated within the Shiite block of Lebanese society. According to the CIA World Factbook estimate in 2022, Shiites comprise 31.2 percent of Lebanon's population, predominating in three areas of Lebanon: Southern Lebanon, Beirut and its environs (Dahieh), and the northern Beqaa valley region.
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The March 14 Alliance, named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, was a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that were united by their anti-Assad regime stance and by their opposition to the March 8 Alliance. It was led by Saad Hariri, Walid Jumblatt and Samir Geagea, as well as other prominent figures.
Pierre Amine Gemayel was a Lebanese politician in the Kataeb Party, also known as the Phalange Party in English.
The 2006–2008 Lebanese protests were a series of political protests and sit-ins in Lebanon that began on 1 December 2006, led by groups that opposed the US and Saudi-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and ended on 21 May 2008 with the signing of the Doha Agreement. The opposition was made up of Hezbollah, Amal, and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM); a number of smaller parties were also involved, including the Marada party, the Lebanese Communist Party and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. A majority of the members of the government were part of the anti-Syrian March 14 Alliance, a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon. The two groups were also divided along religious lines, with most Sunnis and Druze supporting the government, and most Shi'a supporting the opposition. The Christian community was split between the two factions, with Michel Aoun, the leader of the FPM, claiming to have more than 70% support among the Christians, based on the results of the 2005 parliamentary election.
The 2007 Lebanon conflict began when fighting broke out between Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist militant organization, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on May 20, 2007 in Nahr al-Bared, a UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli.
The 2008 Lebanon conflict was a brief intrastate military conflict in May 2008 in Lebanon between opposition militias and pro-government Sunnis. After the 18-month-long political crisis spiralled out of control, with the government's decision to dismantle Hezbollah's telecommunication system, Hezbollah seized control of majority Sunni neighorhoods in west Beirut. The conflict ended with the adoption of the Doha Accord in 2008.
On 9 November 2009, after five months of negotiations following the 2009 parliamentary elections, Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri formed a national unity government.
On 14 February 2005, former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri was assassinated along with 21 others in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kilograms of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel. Among the dead were several of Hariri's bodyguards and former Minister of the Economy, Bassel Fleihan.
The 2011 Lebanese protests, also known as the Intifada of Dignity or Uprising of Dignity were seen as influenced by the Arab Spring. The main protests focused on calls for political reform especially against confessionalism in Lebanon. The protests initiated in early 2011, and dimmed by the end of the year. In another aspect of the Arab Spring, Lebanese pro and anti-Assad factions descended into sectarian violence, which culminated in May–June 2012.
The formation of a new government led by Najib Mikati follows five months of negotiations after the fall of the Saad Hariri government. Mikati formed a controversial 30-minister cabinet. Following ruptures and tensions and two previous threats to resign, Mikati finally resigned on 23 March 2013. Tammam Salam was tasked to form a new government on 6 April 2013.
General elections were held in Lebanon on 6 May 2018. Although originally scheduled for 2013, the election was postponed three times in 2013, 2014 and 2017 for various reasons, including the security situation, the failure of the Parliament to elect a new President, and the technical requirements of holding an election. A new electoral law adopted in 2017 provides a proportional representation system for the first time.
The following lists events that happened in 2007 in Lebanon.