Civilians in the city of Beirut are currently at risk, as the sectarian conflict between Hezbollah (a Shia militant group backed by Iran and Syria, branded as terrorists worldwide) and the Lebanese government (backed by the US) escalated this week with waves of violence .deeming Hezbollah's extensive communications network illegal implicated a "declaration of war ." In the speech, Nasrallah further vowed to break its promise of never turning its arms against fellow Lebanese citizens and said that they would "use their arms to defend their arms." Following this speech, fighters from Amal (a Shii opposition group allied with Hezbollah) has been backing Hezbollah to take over government-held facilities, while blocking the roads with burning tires .several downtown neighborhoods in Beirut. Direct violence has mainly been sectarian in nature, with the Shia militants battling Sunni opposition members. As can be expected, the mixed Shia-Sunni neighborhoods have been the most violent grounds for fighting. Fortunately, Christian neighborhoods have thus far been able to stay out of clashes, although this is a serious concern considering the atrocities that occurred during the previous civil war amounted to 150,000 casualties. As different communities of Lebanese civilians are attempting to flee, we must also not forget about the masses of Palestinian and Iraq refugees that have been overflooding the country for the past few years.a slippery slope of violence and turmoil " for several months. The country, indeed, has been under an extended political crisis, as its parliament has not met in 2 years and the vote for a new president has been delayed for 6 months due to sectarian conflict. According to Roed-Larsen, the current offensive of Hezbollah has led to the rearming of other numerous militias across the country.offering to hold talks between the warring parties to find a solution before the situation escalates to all-out civil war. Meanwhile, the crisis also sparked new political crossfire between US and Iran, each accusing one another of fueling the conflict.to return to peaceful dialogue ," this is no easy task, given Lebanon's sustained vacuum of political leadership. As this can be a turning point for determining the future of Hezbollah's activities, the international community (especially the US) needs to follow France's leadership on this issue before casualties get any higher.
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