Beirut Security Crackdown Shows a City Divided

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- "Here's my schedule: sleep, eat, go to the bathroom, pray, and stand guard. I've been here five days now," says a Lebanese youth encamped in front downtown Beirut. He, like the many others living in the now semi-deserted tent city, is demanding that western backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's government step down before the next elections in 2009. The tents, which sprung up in December 2006, used to hold thousands. Now, protesters move in and out of the camps in shifts, keeping the numbers in the hundreds. However, Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrullah claims to be able to call upon thousands to refill the camp at a moment's notice.

Directly in front of the tents, separating them from the government buildings, government supporters, and the rest of downtown Beirut, is a razor wire and metal fence barrier manned by Lebanese army troops and armored vehicles. The downtown area just beyond both groups is largely closed. Most every business in the once thriving part of the city now closes hours earlier than usual and heavy concrete barriers line the sidewalks in an effort to prevent car bombings. The endless droves of pedestrians shopping and dining well into the night in the soft orange glow of the down town street lights have almost completely disappeared. Barbed wire and army soldiers clash with the sheek and stylish boutiques and restaurants that once attracted Lebanon's elite.

These few square kilometers of city are largely representative of the rest of Beirut. It is now, a city divided under armed guard. Sunnis, Shias, Christians, and Druise all live in largely segregated neighborhoods throughout the city. Turf is marked with different signs, flags, and posters. For example: Shias, with Hezbolla or Amal Movement flags and Sunnis, with white flags that read "Future Youth."