2008 conflict in Lebanon The 2008 conflict in Lebanon began on May 7 , after Lebanon ' s 17 - month long political crisis spiraled out of control . The fighting was sparked by a government move to shut down Hezbollah ' s telecommunication network and remove Beirut Airport ' s security chief Wafic Shkeir over alleged ties to Hezbollah . Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the government ' s decision to declare the group ' s military telecommunications network illegal was a " declaration of war " on the organization , and demanded that the government revoke it . Hezbollah - led opposition fighters seized control of several West Beirut neighborhoods from Future Movement militiamen loyal to the government , in street battles that left 11 dead and 30 wounded . The opposition - seized areas were then handed over to the Lebanese Army . The army also pledged to resolve the dispute and has reversed the decisions of the government by letting Hezbollah preserve its telecoms network and re - instating the airport ' s security chief . Rival Lebanese leaders reached a deal on May 21 , 2008 , to end the 18 - month political feud that exploded into fighting and nearly drove the country to a new civil war . Background . On December 1 , 2006 , a series of protests and sit - in s began in Lebanon , led by groups that opposed the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora . The opposition group was made up of pro - Syrian Hezbollah and Amal . A number of smaller parties were also involved , including the Marada Movement , the Lebanese Communist Party and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party . Members of the government are part of the March 14 Alliance , a coalition of anti - Syrian political parties and former militias that include the Progressive Socialist Party , the Lebanese Forces and the Future Movement . The two groups are also divided along religious lines , the majority of Sunnis supporting the government and the Shi ' a supporting the opposition group . Druze aligned with Walid Jumblatt support the government , while those allied to Talal Arslan have backed the opposition . The Christian community is divided as well , with Michel Aoun claiming to have 70 % of the Christian community ' s support , based on the results of 2005 parliamentary elections . The opposition demanded that the government resign after Shi ' a ministers had left the government in protest against a decision concerning the Hariri tribunal , thus unbalancing the proportional representation of religious groups as stipulated by the Lebanese Constitution . The standoff between the March 14 government and the March 8 opposition resulted in a year - long deadlock over the election of a new President to succeed Emile Lahoud whose term had expired . Seymour Hersh believed that the U . S was working to weaken and disarm Hezbollah with the help of Saudi Arabia , who was attempting to strengthen Sunni groups as a counterweight to the Shi ' a Hezbollah . Borzou Daragahi , the L . A . Times bureau chief in Beirut , wrote that the Saudis had disowned the attempt by Sunnis in Lebanon to found a militia in the guise of a security force named " Secure Plus " . As ' ad AbuKhalil , a secular leftist and a professor of political science at the California State University , Stansilaus , stated that he believed the US was attempting to fund and arm Sunni militias to instigate a Sunni - Shiite conflict . Pepe Escobar wrote in the Asia Times that the US gave $ 60 million to the Lebanese Internal Security Forces at the Interior Ministry , and accused the US of fomenting sectarianism in Lebanon . May 2008 controversies and protests . In May 2008 the tensions between the government and the opposition escalated when the government announced a series of security decisions . Heads of the government accused Hezbollah of preparing for a terrorist attack , which was dismissed by Hezbollah as scaremongering . On May 3 , leaders of the government accused Hezbollah of setting up a hidden , remote - controlled camera in a container park overlooking the main runway of Beirut ' s international airport . The accusation is that the Shia movement , which controls the suburbs where the airport is located , was spying on air traffic in preparation for a possible attack , perhaps aimed at assassinating one of the prominent pro - government figures who fly in and out of the facility . Hezbollah dismissed the accusations again , saying that those who leveled them were simply parroting a US campaign against it and other groups which are resisting Israel . On May 6 , 2008 the government attempted to disable Hezbollah ' s communications network . Hezbollah operates an extensive fixed - line telecommunications network , in parallel to the government owned one , covering its strongholds of south and east Lebanon , and the southern suburbs of Beirut . Hezbollah claimed that the telecommunication network was a key element in the 2006 Lebanon War , which according to Hezbollah was a victory that shocked the Israeli military . The government regarded the network as a breach on its sovereignty . In addition , the network was regarded by the government as an infringement on public funds since it competes with its own at the same time using its own infrastructure . Hezbollah declared that it regards the network as an integral part of its defensive measures against Israel . The government also ordered the commander of security at Beirut international airport , Brig Gen Wafiq Shuqeir , to return to the Army Command who had been suspected of acting on instructions from Hezbollah rather than his employer . Brig Gen Shuqeir hushed up the discovery of a secret surveillance camera allegedly set up by Hezbollah in a container overlooking the main runway , to monitor the movement of aircraft and VIPs . On May 7 , 2008 a labor strike which was planned before the month of May turned into violence when pro - government and opposition gunmen started their shootings , leading to clashes among the two groups in Beirut . The next day , Hezbollah ' s leader Hassan Nasrallah stated on television that the telecommunications network was essential in the militant group ' s resistance against Israel . Nasrallah further said that the government was declaring war by threatening to shut down the group ’ s private communications network and persecuting those controlling it . Protests . On May 7 , 2008 , a work strike called for by the country ' s union federation to demand higher wages and decry high prices was used as a pretext by the opposition to launch its attack . The opposition threw their weight behind the strike which paralyzed large parts of Lebanon ' s capital Beirut . The clashes were first reported when government and opposition supporters in a pro - Government sector of Beirut exchanged insults and began throwing stones at each other after the Hezbollah men insisted on blocking the roads . Witnesses said security forces intervened and gunshots were heard , apparently troops firing in the air to disperse the crowds . Around the city , pro - Hezbollah protesters carrying machine guns and weapons , blocked roads with burning tires . The road toward Beirut international airport was blocked and cut off from the rest of the city , and the Beirut Port was occupied as a main reminder of 1975 - 90 civil war . By the end of this day , the Hezbollah militia had completely conquered the streets of West - Beirut , enforced an armed blockade on houses of Majority leaders Saad Hariri and Walid Jumblatt , and declared that it will continue with its actions until the Government backs down . Armed clashes . May 8 - May 9 : Takeover of Beirut . On May 8 , 2008 , minutes after Nasrallah ' s comments referring to pro - government actions as " a declaration of open war " , heavy street battles began . Fighting began along Corniche Mazraa , an avenue separating Shiite and Sunni areas , spreading to the western , southern and eastern parts of Beirut where Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods overlapped . Combat was heard near the office of Lebanon ' s Sunni religious leader - an ally of the government - and near the official residence of the opposition - aligned parliament speaker . Machine gun s and rocket propelled grenade s were used by both sides . Opposition militants overran and burnt - down three pro - government offices . More barricades were set up , closing major highways . A " CNN " correspondent , pinned down with a Lebanese army unit during an intense gun battle , reported that government forces had not reacted to the violence . The army decided not to intervene in the clashes for fear of a breakup of the army along sectarian lines , which happened during the civil war . Fighting from the previous day lasted throughout the night and only stopped for a short time a little bit after dawn on May 9 , 2008 . However , the fighting quickly resumed after the brief lull . Late in the afternoon , the few Government supporters who had shown some resistance in Beirut had surrendered their arms to the Hezbollah - led opposition . The opposition moved in and took over their abandoned positions in west Beirut , virtually taking over more than half of the capital . About 100 opposition militants in camouflage uniforms marched down Hamra Street . All the media outlets related to the pro - Government Future Movement ( Future Television , Future News , Al Mustaqbal Newspaper , and Radio Orient ) were occupied by opposition fighters and forced to close . The armed occupation of Beirut by pro - Hezbollah militia - men continued until the end of the crisis with almost no reaction from the Army nor Government loyalists . Later that evening sporadic clashes erupted in Sidon , where two civilians were killed ; and in Bar Elias in the Bekaa Valley where a woman was killed . Also , eight people were killed near the town of Aley in clashes between government supporters and opponents . Seven people who were Hezbollah supporters were killed . May 10 - May 12 : Fighting spreads to Aley and the North . On May 10 , 2008 , a funeral procession was attacked by a shop - owner affiliated with the Amal Movement , whose shop was previously burned down by Sunni militants , leaving six people dead . An Associated Press photographer who witnessed the shooting said the attack came as a procession of 200 people headed toward a nearby cemetery to bury a 24 - year - old pro - government supporter killed in previous fighting . At least 14 people were killed in the town of Halba , in the Akkar region of north Lebanon , as about 100 pro - Future Movement gunmen attacked an office of the SSNP . 10 of the dead were SSNP members , three were government loyalists and one was an Australian citizen of Lebanese descent on vacation in Lebanon , who was trying to get information at the SSNP offices about evacuating from the city . The Australian father of four , Fadi Sheikh , reportedly had his hands and feet cut off . One other person was killed in fighting in Sidon and two soldiers died in fighting east of Beirut . At least 40 people have been killed , four days after Beirut street battles have ignited . On the other hand , Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the decision on the communications issue would be dealt with by the army . The Lebanese army said it had frozen measures taken by the government against the Hezbollah movement , and called for all armed militants to withdraw from the streets . Then Hezbollah ' s TV station , Al - Manar , announced that Hezbollah - led opposition forces would withdraw all their gunmen from Beirut in compliance with the Lebanese army ' s request , but a civil disobedience campaign will continue until the group ' s demands are met . During the night between May 10 and May 11 , heavy fighting broke out between Alawite Hezbollah sympathizers and Sunni supporters of the government in Tripoli . One woman was killed . On May 11 , Beirut was quiet , after control of areas seized by the opposition was handed to the Lebanese army . Many roads in the capital remained blocked , including the airport road , as the opposition continued a campaign of civil disobedience . In Tripoli , Sunni supporters of the government had reportedly been fighting opposition followers in the Alawite dominated Jabal Mohsen area with machine - guns and rocket - propelled grenades . Battle of Mount Barook and Aley District . On May 9 , heavy fighting broke out in Mount Lebanon between pro - government Progressive Socialist Party members and Hezbollah . The clashes started in Aytat , near Kayfoun and soon expanded to cover many spots in Mount Lebanon including Baysur , Shuweifat and Aley . Most of the fighting was concentrated on Hill 888 . It started when four Druze members of the Aley municipal police were kidnapped by Hezbollah . Soon after the news of the kidnapping spread , the Mayor of Aley assembled a group of PSP fighters and went up to Hill 888 . As they reached the hill they were attacked by Hezbollah gunmen who wounded few of the PSP and municipality members . PSP members retaliated killing 3 of the kidnappers . The incident developed into an armed clash . Artillery and mortars were used for the first time during these battles . A ceasefire agreement was supposed to take place at 18 : 00 of the same day , but fighters from both sides continued to exchange fire . Negotiations were ongoing for the PSP members to give up the fight and surrender their positions to the Lebanese Army , but it never happened . The battles at Aley stopped for several hours , but the two sides clashed again in Mount Barook to the southeast shortly before midnight . Barook separates the Druze heartland of Shouf from the mainly Shi ' ite southern end of the Bekaa Valley . That night Hezbollah ' s fighters deployed from southern Beirut to the Qmatiyeh area tried to attack the hills near Aley but they were beaten back . After that Hezbollah tried to go on the offensive again and attacked their rival ' s positions . The Druze Militia had fought the Hezbollah militants from dug - in positions left over from the 1975 - 90 civil war . The Druze used hunting guns , AK 47 and other machine guns and RPGs to blast at the advancing Hezbollah . The offensive was backed up by Katyusha rockets fired from southern Beirut . Opposition forces bombarded the pro - government Druze area with artillery while ground forces attacked Druze positions using rockets and machine guns . By morning the pro - government Druze fighters agreed to stop the battle and several villages loyal to Lebanon ' s pro - government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt had been handed to the army . PSP stayed in the region . The kidnapped municipality police members were released by Hezbollah on May 12 in exchange of at least 30 hezbollah members that were kidnapped by PSP in Barouk mountain . Clashes in Hamra and Tripoli . After a day of relative quiet in Beirut renewed gunfire was heard in the commercial area of Hamra in the western part of the city shortly after midnight on May 12 . The fighting occurred near the home of Future Movement leader Saad al - Hariri . A two - man Al Jazeera camera crew suffered injuries while trying to film the fighting and were evacuated by the Lebanese army . Meanwhile in Tripoli clashes left one person dead and at least six others wounded . The Army stated that if the clashes did not end by morning of the next day they will intervene and use force if necessary to end the fighting . May 13 - May 14 : The Army intervenes and tensions are diffused . Starting at 06 : 00 a . m . May 13 , local time , the Lebanese Army started to deploy to prevent any further fighting . After moving its headquarters , Future TV was back on the air by 4 : 30 p . m . Lebanese Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis announced that the port of the bay of Jounieh will start accommodating ships and ferries for Lebanese arriving from and leaving to Cyprus . There was less fighting then during the previous days and the rival militias took the chance to bury their dead . On May 14 , Lebanon ' s pro - government and opposition factions , had reached a deal to revoke the two decisions that sparked the fighting . On the same day , the opposition ended its civil disobedience campaign . Also , this day was when the airport had opened for one day to allow a plane to arrive for a meeting and then departure again . Doha Agreement . The Doha Agreement , made on 21 May 2008 , was considered a victory for the Lebanese opposition as they secured their demand for veto - wielding power in the new government and a new electoral law which could benefit the opposition in the 2009 parliamentary elections . The agreement was considered by various Middle East analysts of being another blow to the Bush administration ' s policies in Lebanon . June – July 2008 : Clashes continue . On June 17 , three people were killed in clashes between pro - and anti - government residents in two villages in the Bekaa Valley , in eastern Lebanon , according to a Lebanese military official . On June 22 and June 23 , at least nine people , eight civilians and a policeman , were killed and 55 others were wounded in Tripoli , in clashes between pro - government Sunnis based in the Bab el - Tabaneh district and pro - Syrian Alawites from Jabal Mohsen . Machine guns and rocket - propelled grenades were used in the clashes , which started around four in the morning . Also on June 22 , a senior officer of the Islamist group Jund al - Sham , Imad Yassin , was wounded by a bomb , along with another Islamist , in the Palestinian refugee camp Ain al - Hilweh . A pro - Syrian Druze politician of the Lebanese Democratic Party , Saleh Aridi , was killed in a car bomb on September 11 , 2008 . Fighting in Tripoli . Between July 25 and September 29 , 23 people were killed in clashes between Sunni and Alawite militants in Tripoli . On September 8 , Alawite and Sunni leaders signed a reconciliation agreement , which ended the fighting and tension which has haunted Tripoli since the civil war . Sunni Future Movement leader Saad Hariri subsequently visited Tripoli stating " We are both Lebanese and we will not allow anyone to tamper with us . I will do everything I can in order not to let anyone damage the Alawites ' security in Tripoli and to foil any external plot to tamper with the security of the Alawites or the security of Tripoli " . On August 13 and September 29 , car bombs targeting civilian busses in Tripoli killing five soldiers in the first incident , and 16 people including 7 soldiers , in the second . Reactions . Iran ' s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad - Ali Hosseini has called on national unity among the Lebanese adding that the situation can be " managed through talks and consensus - building . " Hosseini blamed the U . S . and Israel for the ongoing hostilities in Lebanon . Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al - Faisal accused Iran of " backing what happened in Lebanon , a coup " and called for " all regional parties to respect the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon and to stop meddling in its affairs and inciting sectarian tensions " . He had further accused Hezbollah of taking " violent , offensive measures , which aim at an annihilation of people . " Prime Minister Fouad Siniora urged the Lebanese army to restore order , assuring that the country won ' t fall to Hezbollah after four days of clashes . On May 11 Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo have urged an immediate halt to the fighting in Lebanon and agreed to send a ministerial delegation to Beirut to try to mediate an end to the crisis . Casualties . During the heavy battles in Beirut and east and north of the city 84 people were killed and 200 were wounded while one Hezbollah supporter was missing . Among the dead were confirmed to be 27 pro - government and 39 opposition fighters , two soldiers and 16 civilians , 15 Lebanese and one Australian . Another 12 people were killed in June , including one policeman . A further nine died in July , also including one policeman .