Screenshot from a video circulating online of the confrontation along Old Saida Road between Ain al-Rummaneh and Chiyah, on Nov. 22, 2024.
BEIRUT — The area where the predominantly Christian Ain al-Rummaneh neighborhood and the predominantly Shiite Chiyah neighborhood meet was particularly fraught with tension on Friday. Dozens of young people from both neighborhoods had gathered at the Old Saida Road that divides the two areas, with videos circulated online showing the two groups yelling at each other and at times even breaking into physical violence.
The communities of Ain al-Rummaneh and Chiyah were bitter rivals during the Lebanese Civil War, with the former traditionally aligned with the Lebanese Forces and the latter with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.The two are diametrically opposed on the issue of Hezbollah's ongoing armament, in particular, against a backdrop of daily Israeli bombardments of the southern suburbs of Beirut and Chiyah, since the devastating escalation by Israel of its bombing campaign across southern and eastern Lebanon on Sept. 23.
According to a security source, the incident on Friday "was quickly contained by the Lebanese Army, which is present at every street corner," adding that it was possible the clashes had come in the wake of the agitation caused by the Israeli army's issuance of three evacuation warnings for Beirut's southern suburbs, of which Chiyah is considered to be a part of.