Druze assassination sparks chaos

Lebanese government calls for unity after the killing of a man who had close ties with both pro-West and pro-Syria leaders.

Family members and friends mourn next to the body of Lebanese Druze opposition politician Sheikh Saleh al Adidi.

BEIRUT// The first political assassination in almost nine months thrust Lebanon's government into confusion yesterday amid calls for unity among rival factions as investigators tried to determine the reason for the attack. Sheikh Saleh al Aridi, a prominent figure in Lebanon's tiny but volatile Druze community, was killed late Wednesday by a small bomb placed under his car in the mountain village of Baissour, just east of Beirut. The killing was immediately condemned by all Lebanese political factions as an attempt to derail a several-months-old truce between the pro-western government and pro-Syrian opposition after a series of violent clashes in May killed more than 60 people. Political figures immediately pointed to the national reconciliation process proposed by Michel Suleiman, the president, as a suspected motive for the killing, although none would publicly say who might want to see that process fail. Although Lebanon has faced a wave of assassinations of anti-Syrian political figures since the 2005 killing of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, this was the first such killing since the May agreement to distribute power between the government and opposition brokered by Qatar. Adding to the confusion and concern in Beirut's political circles was that Mr Aridi had been a key leader of the Lebanese Democratic Party, headed by Talal Arslan and considered very close to Syria, making this the first such killing of a Damascus ally in recent years. But despite Mr Arslan's political alliance with Syria and the Hizbollah-led opposition, his rivalry with Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party and a Druze, had turned co-operative after the May clashes, when Mr Arslan's men switched sides and joined Mr Jumblatt's PSP to help fight off a Hizbollah attack on the Druze-dominated Chouf mountains. Mr Arslan, who was out of the country at the time of the murder, immediately returned to Beirut and told reporters yesterday the attack was designed to split Druze unity. "Message received," he told reporters at the airport. "This is a political blow par excellence." Rayan al Ashkar, a top student organiser with Mr Jumblatt's group, said the attack was clearly designed to warn Mr Jumblatt and Mr Arslan against showing too much Druze unity against outside powers. But he said both men had spoken yesterday morning and agreed that this would not divide them. "It's obviously a message to Mount Lebanon, Jumblatt and Arslan. At same time, it's a direct message to break the agreement we had in May, to split the Druze and start a conflict among them," he said. "Arslan spoke immediately to Jumblatt on arrival. Even if we have political differences, but when it comes to security on the mountains there are no differences for the Druze." Despite targeting a member of the anti-American alliance, the killing drew immediate criticism from the United States. "The United States is deeply concerned about the latest violence in Lebanon," Sean McCormack, a state department spokesman, said in a statement. "Our support for the Lebanese government and its democratic institutions is unwavering." Mr Aridi's influence in the Druze community was substantial, according to Druze political and cultural figures because he was known to have close ties to both Mssers Jumblatt and Arslan and came from an influential family. His father is a famous Druze religious figure, known for his diplomatic skills in resolving conflicts among various factions, a skill many said his son inherited. Mr Ashkar said Mr Aridi played a critical role in stopping a series of clashes between Hizbollah fighters and Druze villagers that exploded shortly after the May takeover of West Beirut by Hizbollah and Amal fighters in a political struggle against the government. According to both Druze and Hizbollah sources, as Hizbollah fighters tried to assault Mr Jumblatt's positions in the Chouf Mountains, they were quickly surrounded and almost wiped out. After several of their men were killed and nearly a dozen wounded by Druze fire, the Hizbollah commander on the ground was forced to call Shiite political leaders for help. Nabih Berri, the speaker of Lebanon's parliament and the leader of Amal, then asked Mr Jumblatt to spare the trapped Hizbollah fighters in exchange for a withdrawal and ceasefire, and Mr Aridi negotiated the deal to avoid further bloodshed. After that success, Mr Aridi became a critical force in maintaining political unity between the two rival factions and was expected to play an important role in the upcoming reconciliation talks. As Hizbollah public officials condemned the killing, militant commanders with the group said the killing shocked them, as Mr Aridi was considered a trusted friend to both the opposition and government. "We loved him," said one Hizbollah commander, who requested anonymity for security reasons. "He saved our guys in the May fight and kept the situation from becoming worse. No ally of Hizbollah would kill this man." @email:[e-mail]