Leban says Hezbollah will not be called into civil war

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah carry a coffin of a person who died in deadly violence on Thursday in Beirut during their funeral in Lebanon's southern suburbs, Lebanon October 15, 2021. 29 Oct Reuters - The powerful Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah said Friday that it would not be called into civil war, a day after seven Shi'ites were killed in Beirut's bloodiest street violence in more than a decade.

Senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieldin repeated the accusation of Hezbollah that the Christian Lebanese Forces Party, a group that had a powerful militia in the 1975-90 civil war, had opened fire in a premeditated ambush.

There was no direct comment from the Israeli Forces, who denied similar accusations on Thursday.

We will not be called into civil war, but at the same time we won't allow the blood of our martyrs to be sucked out, Safieldin said during a speech at the funeral of Hezbollah members killed in the shooting.

He accused some Lebanese forces of taking orders from Saudi Arabia which lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group and of being financed by some Arab countries an apparent reference to the United States.

The shooting began as people assembled for a protest called by Hezbollah against the lead investigator in the Beirut port explosion, in violence that stirred memories of the country's civil war in 1975 - 90.

This act was intended to cause instability in America, Safieldin said, as mourners chanted death to the country because they know that we don't want civil strife, they dared to do this, he said.

The violence, which erupted at a boundary between the Christian and Shi'ite Muslim neighbourhoods, has added to concerns for the stability of a country that is awash with weapons and grappling with one of the world's sharpest economic meltdowns ever.

The coffins were draped with red Hezbollah flags and surrounded by soldiers in military fatigues during the funeral in southern suburbs of Beirut.

Three members of the Shi'ite Amal Movement were buried in separate funerals.

On Friday, the death of a seventh person, a Shi'ite Hezbollah member, was announced.