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Tuesday, May 13, 2008 19:21 GMT

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Hezbollah, In Opposition, Takes Charge
Analysis by Mona Alami
BEIRUT - At least 11 people are dead and 30 injured during ferocious gun battles pitting opposition Shia Amal and Hezbollah fighters against members of the Sunni Future Movement, which is part of the majority March 14 alliance in government. As the opposition's militia men clamped down on government headquarters, the balance of power seems to have been shifted permanently in the Land of the Cedars.
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Hezbollah Unleashes a Coup Bid
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - Men clad in black have roamed the streets of Beirut since Wednesday, their faces covered with ski masks or dark kaffiya, as they wreaked havoc in the large avenues leading to the airport or dividing Sunni and Shia areas. As darkness loomed over Lebanon, the winds of discord seem to set the Lebanese capital ablaze.
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Al-Qaeda on a Slippery Base
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman Zawahiri, announced in an audiotape broadcast Apr. 21 that Islamic groups would play a pivotal role in the war against Jews, and encouraged militants to expel invading 'Crusaders' masquerading as peacekeepers, referring to UNIFIL troops deployed in South Lebanon.
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Wobbling In Uncertainty
Analysis by Mona Alami
BEIRUT - As clashes between supporters of Lebanon's feuding factions become increasingly frequent, Lebanon seems to be walking a fine line between stability and violence.
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Hate the U.S., And Head For It
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - The growing rift between the U.S. and Iran has spread also to Lebanese soil, with Shia youngsters frequently seen burning U.S. flags. But ironically, for many of Hezbollah's Shia constituency, the U.S. is home.
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Christian Divisions Complicate Politics
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - The political crisis gripping Lebanon has chipped away at what has been viewed by most since the 2005 parliamentary elections as an unlikely alignment of two political heavyweights.
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Assassinations Shake Christian Town
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - The lush Bekaa Valley is nestled between snowy Mount Lebanon and the Syrian border. The region, reputed for its wine production, was this week the witness to a violent crime in the Christian city of Zahleh, where two members of the anti-Syrian Kataeb party (Phalangists) were gunned down.
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Fleeing a Refugee Camp for Refuge
By Mona Alami
TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Music resonates down the rundown streets of Beddawi, an overpopulated suburb of Tripoli. People have moved into garages and covered the entrance with bed sheets in a feeble attempt at privacy.
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Children Learn That Religion Excludes
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - From East to West, the Arab region is afflicted with mounting religious divides that are increasingly affecting the well-being of the region's children. Lebanon's constitution, which splits power equally between Muslims and Christians, is no exception to this growing chasm.
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Hopes of Peace from Lords of War
Analysis by Mona Alami
BEIRUT - The pages of Lebanon's history are drenched in blood. And, more than 30 years after the start of the 1975 civil war, Lebanese factions are still pitted against each other in a confrontation with a recurring sectarian dimension amidst a volatile regional context.
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The Lights Are Going Out in Beirut
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - Sporadic gunfire erupts, breaking the silence of the night. A few police cars speed up, heading east. Their lights flashing in the dark and their sirens echoing across the shanty neighbourhoods, they rapidly cross the run down metallic Basta bridge in the direction of the shootout.
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Children Get to Work Early*
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - Walid is a wide-eyed boy of 10. His frail figure, of the kind common in such poverty-stricken areas, seems smaller than for a child his age. His hands are covered in dirt and paint. Here, in Ard Jalloul (the land of Jalloul), located in the populous Tarik Jdideh neighbourhood of Beirut, he works as a painter from 8am to 6pm for 7 dollars a day.
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Peace Brings No Joy to Children*
By Mona Alami
BEIRUT - Over the years, Lebanese children have faced war and bombings enough to make violence a staple in their lives. With the situation becoming increasingly volatile as Lebanese factions are gripped by a lasting and deadly discord, this vulnerable population is left at greater risk.
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Mona Alami, a French-Lebanese journalist based in Beirut, brings IPS exclusive and incisive reports on the challenges that armed conflict poses for the Lebanese people's daily lives. Mona took to reporting after a law degree and an MBA. Her reporting spreads across the canvas from the pressing news of the day to a close look at broader issues that others have mostly forgotten.