http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23120943.htm
Lebanese shop for guns as political tension rises 23 Mar 2005 14:13:05 GMT Source: Reuters By Cynthia Johnston TRIPOLI, Lebanon, March 23 (Reuters) - Lebanese Sunni Muslim militant Mohammed Ala al-Din already has an assault rifle that he says is for his personal protection. Across town in the northern coastal city of Tripoli, Ibrahim al-Hayek, a Christian who fought in Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war for a secular pro-Syrian militia, is looking to buy one. "I want a small rifle," Hayek, who handed over a cache of guns after the war, said, holding his baby daughter on his lap "Since 1990, I didn't want one. But now I do in case something happens." Lebanese familiar with the legal weapons market in Tripoli said demand for small arms had climbed since the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which sparked huge anti-Syrian street protests. Black market prices for weapons and ammunition have also jumped and assault rifles are not readily available to meet demand, Lebanese and Palestinian sources said. Syria, under international pressure, has announced plans to withdraw its troops. But the Lebanese government has fallen, creating a political crisis before elections due in May. A standoff between pro-Syrian loyalists and the opposition has fuelled Lebanese fears about renewed conflict in a sectarian society in which experts say most households are armed. An overnight bomb blast killed three people in a Christian area on Wednesday, five days after another explosion wounded 11. At one Tripoli gun shop where rows of rifles sit in glass cases, a dealer said demand had jumped by 60 to 70 percent for licensed weapons like pistols and pump action rifles. Many of his customers are first-time buyers, men in their 20s and 30s seeking to protect their families. "With the pump action, they put it in the house. They use it for everything. It is for protection and hunting," said the dealer, who asked that only his family name, Yassin, be used. "Everyone now is afraid for his shop or his house... They are afraid because of the situation." NO MAJOR THREAT The weapons trade flourished during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, although Christian and Muslim militias that had sliced the country into feuding fiefdoms later gave up their heavy weapons. Light weapons such as pistols and assault rifles were not collected and remain in domestic arsenals that are a legacy of years of bloodletting. "We are dealing with a country where the national state was not so powerful... It was a matter of survival," said Timor Goksel, a retired spokesman for U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon. "It is not seen as a very major threat to society that people have personal weapons, so long as they are in the hands of individuals. The main fear is weapons in the hands of Palestinian militias or organised groups," he said. The Lebanese and Palestinian weapons sources in Tripoli said the fresh demand for guns was coming from Lebanese of all sects seeking light weapons for personal protection, not for armed groups. Heavy weapons were not on the market. "There is a consensus not to resort to force to resolve the conflict," a senior Lebanese army source said of the country's political crisis. "We have no information about people re-arming... Up to now there is no great danger." Among Lebanese groups, only Hizbollah is openly armed. The Shi'ite guerrillas kept their weapons after the civil war to fight Israeli occupation of south Lebanon, which ended in 2000. The United Nations and Washington want Hizbollah to disarm, but the Iranian- and Syrian-backed group has refused to so so, saying its guns are aimed only at Israel, not fellow Lebanese. Palestinians, whose refugee camps the Lebanese army does not enter, also kept arms after the war. Clashes occasionally occur in the camps, but a Fatah official in the Badawi camp north of Tripoli said Palestinians had "no military agenda" in Lebanon. Goksel said he was impressed that street protests had been peaceful and believed more violence could be avoided despite the scattered bombs, shootings and grenade blasts of recent weeks. "But another major incident or upheaval can turn the tables around," he added. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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