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Hezbollah Warns of Chaos, Civil War in Lebanon

Reuters

   BEIRUT - Lebanon's Hezbollah movement warned on Friday that a power
   vacuum could tip the country into civil war, suggesting that
   adversaries including the United States and Israel were seeking to
   exploit an unprecedented wave of demonstrations to provoke conflict.

   Lebanon has been swept by more than a week of nationwide protests
   against a political elite accused of corruption, mismanagement of the
   state finances and leading the country towards an economic collapse
   unseen since the 1975-90 civil war.

   A report from credit rating agency S&P was the latest to sound the
   alarm over the financial situation. Banks remain closed and have said
   they will only reopen when life returns to normal.

   Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose movement is part of
   Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's coalition government, urged his
   followers to stay away from the protests after they clashed with
   demonstrators in Beirut.

   The heavily armed Shi'ite group is widely seen as the most powerful
   player in Lebanon and is part of an Iranian-led regional alliance that
   is in conflict with U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states that have political
   allies in the country.

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