Hizbullah leaders announced Saturday that the group would withdraw from the streets of Beirut following a request from the Lebanese army. Hizbullah will continue a “civil disobedience” campaign until the government gives in to its demands, they said.
Lebanese military officials said the army would handle the controversy over Hizbullah’s private communications network. An airport security chief who was fired for his ties to Hizbullah would be allowed to return to his position, they said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora ordered the military to restore order on Saturday following a week in which Hizbullah and other armed gangs took to the streets, leaving dozens dead in fighting that included the use of grenades and mortar shell fire. He accused Hizbullah of dealing “a poisonous stab” to Lebanese democracy.