ALBAWABA - Hezbollah soldiers held an armed parade in central Beirut, which was strongly criticized by Lebanon's Prime Minister and other political leaders.
This made arguments about the group's weapons and the state's power even stronger. The controversial display of force happened in the Zoqaq al-Blat district on Saturday during celebrations for Ashura. The event happened just a few hundred meters from the government offices.
Dozens of armed Hezbollah members were seen marching through the streets with assault weapons and chanting "At your service, Hezbollah" and other phrases in support of the group. Politicians criticized the show right away, but Hezbollah hasn't said anything in public yet.
The parade was strongly condemned by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who said it was "completely unacceptable under any circumstances." In a post on the social network X, Salam said he had called the Ministers of Interior and Justice and asked them to start legal action and look into those who did it.
Ibrahim Mneimneh, an independent MP from Beirut, agreed with the others and called the parade an act of "thuggery and intimidation" meant to keep military power over Beirut without any checks. He said that these kinds of displays don't show a good understanding of the current situation in Lebanon and are "void of real value." He also asked the police and the courts to step in right away and arrest those responsible.
The event happened at a time when politicians in Lebanon are talking a lot about how to control arms, especially Hezbollah's stockpile. A lot of people in the country want all guns to be controlled by the government. This is especially important since Israel keeps breaking the ceasefire along Lebanon's southern border.
A recent suggestion from Thomas Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, to Lebanese officials added to the controversy. Reports say that the U.S. plan calls for Hezbollah to completely give up its weapons by the end of 2025 in return for Israel leaving five disputed areas in southern Lebanon and letting rebuilding funds for areas damaged in the recent conflict flow.
Many people saw the armed parade as a direct threat to state authority. It put more pressure on Hezbollah and made it clear that there are more and more calls for disarmament and national sovereignty in Lebanon and around the world.
