This article is about the conflict in Lebanon in 2008. For the conflict in 2007, see 2007 Lebanon conflict. For the war in 2006, see 2006 Lebanon War.
2008 Lebanon conflict
Top to bottom, and left to right: A Lebanese Army M113 armoured personnel carrier in Beirut, Future TV building in Beirut after getting arsoned, flag of the SSNP in a Beirut street, Destroyed car in Beirut, picture of armed fighters taken from the Crowne Plaza in Beirut.
Date
May 7, 2008 – May 14, 2008 (main phase, sporadic clashes continued into July)
Location
Lebanon
Result
March 8 alliance victory
Doha Agreement (2008)
Belligerents
March 14 Alliance
Future Movement
Progressive Socialist Party
March 8 Alliance
Hezbollah
Amal Movement
LDP
SSNP
Arab Democratic Party
Commanders and leaders
Saad Hariri Walid Jumblatt
Hassan Nasrallah Nabih Berri
Casualties and losses
70–110 dead
v
t
e
Civil conflicts in Lebanon
1958 crisis
1961 coup d'état attempt
Civil war
Bab al-Tabbaneh–Jabal Mohsen
Dinnieh clashes
Cedar Revolution
2007 conflict
2008 conflict
Syrian civil war spillover
17 October Revolution
2021 Beirut clashes
2023 Ain al-Hilweh clashes
The 2008 Lebanon conflict (or the 7 May 2008 clashes; Arabic: أحداث 7 أيار) was a brief intrastate military conflict in May 2008 in Lebanon between opposition militias (mainly Shiite Hezbollah) and pro-government Sunnis,[1] after the 18-month-long political crisis spiralled out of control,[2] when the government's decision to dismantle Hezbollah's telecommunication system,[3] which led to Hezbollah seizing control of majority Sunni neighbourhoods in west Beirut,[4][5] and ended with the adoption of the Doha Accord in 2008.[3]
The fighting between pro-government and opposition militias affiliated to respectively the Future Movement and PSP political parties on one side and Hezbollah, Amal, SSNP, LDP and the Arab Democratic Party on the other side, was sparked by a government move to shut down Hezbollah's telecommunication network and remove Beirut Airport's head of security after the discovery of a hidden remote-controlled camera monitoring one of the airport's runway and his alleged ties to Hezbollah.[6] Clashes first occurred on May 7 after a general strike called for by the country's union federation to demand higher wages and decry high consumer prices became overshadowed by the government's decisions and escalated into low-level violence between pro-government and opposition protesters. Violence severely escalated the next morning on May 8 after a televised speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. In his speech, Nasrallah responded to the government's decision to declare the organization's telecommunication network illegal by calling it a declaration of war on the organization, shortly after which fighting between pro-government and opposition militias broke out in Beirut.[6] Within two days, Hezbollah-led opposition fighters had seized control of several West Beirut majority Sunni neighbourhoods from pro-government Future Movement militiamen.[7] In the following days, fighting between pro-government and opposition militias spread to other parts of the country with major clashes in the Aley District and Tripoli.[8] On May 15, an intervention by the Arab League brokered an immediate end to hostilities and a pledge from warring parties to send emissaries to Doha for a mediation process.[9] The resulting Doha Agreement, reached on May 21, 2008, brought an end to the 18-month political feud that exploded into fighting and nearly drove the country to a new civil war.[10]
^"Violence escalates between Sunni and Shia in Beirut". The Guardian. 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
^"Violence escalates between Sunni and Shia in Beirut | Lebanon | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
^ ab"Nasrallah hails May 7 as 'glorious day' for Resistance". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2021-10-16. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
^Worth, Robert F.; Bakri, Nada (2008-05-10). "Hezbollah Seizes Swath of Beirut From U.S.-Backed Lebanon Government". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
^ abBlanford, Nicholas (2008-05-09). "Hezbollah phone network spat sparks Beirut street war". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
^"Hezbollah takes over west Beirut". BBC News. 2008-05-09. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
^Kandy Ringer. "Lebanon's Fighting Spreads to Druze Heartland". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
^Dakhlallah, Farah (2012-03-01). "The Arab League in Lebanon: 2005–2008". Cambridge Review of International Affairs. 25 (1): 71. doi:10.1080/09557571.2011.646241. ISSN 0955-7571. S2CID 154422221.
^"Lebanon rivals agree crisis deal". BBC News. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
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Global Information
Saad Hariri
Hassan Nasrallah
Nabih Berri
