Impoverished Beirut Neighborhood Becomes Starting Point for Attacks on Protesters

A burned car that was set on fire early Tuesday by Hezbollah and Amal, lies on a roadside, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A burned car that was set on fire early Tuesday by Hezbollah and Amal, lies on a roadside, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Impoverished Beirut Neighborhood Becomes Starting Point for Attacks on Protesters

A burned car that was set on fire early Tuesday by Hezbollah and Amal, lies on a roadside, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A burned car that was set on fire early Tuesday by Hezbollah and Amal, lies on a roadside, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The name of the area al-Khandaq al-Ghameeq near central Beirut has been associated with confrontations with anti-government Lebanese demonstrators who took to the streets on October 17. Their attempts to contain those attacking them from that area were not fruitful, whether through mothers’ marches from neighboring areas, a visit by members of the Tripoli Municipality that emphasized that Lebanese pain is one, or by the protesters’ chants through megaphones against sedition.

Almost one week ago, the Khandaq youth assaults on protesters in central Beirut and their confrontations with the security forces and their use of Molotov, sticks, and stones, dominated the headlines and live coverage, until the events that took place on Tuesday, including burning cars in an attempt to create tensions and force protesters out of Beirut’s squares.

Al-Khandaq al-Ghameeq is located right next to central Beirut and spans from Basta Tahta to Fouad Chehab Bridge, known as Ring. Its buildings carry the marks of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 Civil War and are in apparent contradiction with the fancy buildings next to the financial center.

Mukhtar of Bashoura Mesbah Eido tells Asharq al-Awsat that “al-Khandaq spans 500 meters and ends at the French Hospital that was razed to the ground before the 1975 war started. A real estate company bought it out a while ago but stopped after finding an archaeological area there. Al-Khandaq was a line of contact during the war, ending at the Ring. Inside its neighborhoods, life was normal. A Christian majority and some minorities inhabited the area. The Syriac church is still there under reconstruction, along with Christian properties. This area, however, was invaded by displaced persons during the civil war, who were compensated by the displaced fund and the owners retrieved their properties.”

Al-Khandaq is adjacent to Zaroob al-Haramiye [Thieves Alley] that separated it from Bashoura graveyard, the oldest in Beirut. It is simultaneously famous for comic and horrific stories.

Al-Hajj Ali, an elderly from the area, tells Asharq al-Awsat, “These alleys would beat with stories about strong men dominating the entrances to downtown Beirut and would follow leaders’ commands. However, there is a big difference between the movements of the forties and fifties of the last century, where a gallant strong people would help those in need and would protect families, and today’s thugs, hooligans working for their interest or for whoever pays.”

In Eido’s opinion, what is happening from al-Khandaq is “the result of poverty and negligence due to the state’s indifference to the people.”

Mahdi, the owner of a newspaper distribution company, tells Asharq al-Awsat that the protesters’ constant attempts to block the Ring road “harms the people in al-Khandaq as it stops them from entering the area. They have always demanded that the road is blocked from the Ashrafieh side and not theirs, but they were not heard.”

He insists that “people from al-Khandaq are peaceful, but the provocations have gone beyond the limit. Every leader has his group. When social media shows cursing and news of buses from Tripoli and Akkar headed to protect the protesters from al-Khandaq’s residents, motorcycles start gathering, and the young men prepare themselves to defend their rights and dignity.”

Mahdi points out that the Sunni families in al-Khandaq are very few, alongside two Christian families predating the civil war.

One of the young men from al-Khandaq does not agree with Mahdi, saying that “the area is Shiite and poor, and the predominant population there is Shiite, mostly unemployed and affiliated with Amal Movement or the Resistance Brigades. However, Hezbollah does not have much dominance there.”

Its young people do not deal with Amal supporters because they are organized and committed to a partisan direction. Amal and the Resistance Brigades assemble, get a call, and mobilize. It’s not important whether they get called by official parties, perhaps they are being mobilized by some fifth column, he says.



What to Know about the Latest Effort to End Türkiye's 40-year Kurdish Conflict

FILED - 02 November 2041, Hesse, Frankfurt_Main: A man displays a flag with the image of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan at the Kurdish Newroz celebration in Frankfurt. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa
FILED - 02 November 2041, Hesse, Frankfurt_Main: A man displays a flag with the image of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan at the Kurdish Newroz celebration in Frankfurt. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa
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What to Know about the Latest Effort to End Türkiye's 40-year Kurdish Conflict

FILED - 02 November 2041, Hesse, Frankfurt_Main: A man displays a flag with the image of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan at the Kurdish Newroz celebration in Frankfurt. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa
FILED - 02 November 2041, Hesse, Frankfurt_Main: A man displays a flag with the image of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan at the Kurdish Newroz celebration in Frankfurt. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa

A group of 30 Kurdish fighters clad in camouflage fatigues burned their weapons in a large cauldron in northern Iraq on Friday, in a symbolic gesture marking the first concrete step in an effort to end one of the Middle East’s longest-running insurgencies.

The ceremonial laying down of arms by members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK -- including 15 women — comes months after the group’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called on it to disarm and disband as part of a new peace effort with Türkiye. Ocalan repeated that call in a video message to his fighters this week.

The process in Türkiye was initiated in October by Devlet Bahceli, a firebrand ultranationalist politician who has usually opposed any concessions to Kurdish identity or rights.

While Turkish officials have welcomed the first step toward the PKK’s disarmament, questions remain about the future of Kurdish fighters in Syria.

What is the PKK? The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged an armed insurgency against Türkiye since 1984, initially with the aim of establishing a Kurdish state in the southeast of the country. Over time, the objective evolved into a campaign for autonomy and rights for Kurds within Türkiye.

The conflict between militants and state forces, which has spread beyond Türkiye’s borders into Iraq and Syria, has killed tens of thousands of people. The PKK is considered to be a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.

Who is Ocalan? Abdullah Ocalan, who as a student of political science in Ankara became deeply involved in leftist movements, formed the PKK in 1978 as a Marxist organization. He fled to Syria in 1979, along with other PKK members, where he remained until 1998, when Syria expelled him under intense pressure from Türkiye.

Ocalan was captured in Kenya in 1999 and imprisoned on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara, where he remains to this day. His death sentence for treason was commuted to a life term in prison after Türkiye abolished the death penalty.

The 76-year-old endures as a symbol for Kurdish independence and rights and continues to wield influence over the Kurdish movement, with past messages relayed through family members or lawyers resonating beyond Türkiye, in Iraq and Syria.

Push for peace

In October, Bahceli, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggested Ocalan could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands the PKK.

It was a major shift for the hardline politician who had previously strongly supported the state’s military action against the militant group and its affiliates in neighboring Syria and rejected any notion of negotiation.

In a message delivered through senior officials of the pro-Kurdish People's Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, Ocalan called on the PKK leadership to take the decision to disband and disarm in February.

The PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire in March in response to Ocalan’s call and later announced its decision to disarm.

It was not immediately clear what concessions, if any, the Kurdish groups would get in return. PKK officials have said they expect former fighters to be given a path to integrate into the political system in Türkiye.

There are also concerns that some splinter groups may emerge within the PKK and that attacks may continue.

Soon after Bahceli's announcement, the PKK claimed an attack on Türkiye’s key aerospace company outside of Ankara that killed several people.

Previous attempts

There have been several peace efforts between the Turkish state and the PKK over the years, including secret negotiations held in Oslo, Norway from 2009 until 2011. However, none have yielded results.

The last attempt to reach a peace deal took place between 2013 and 2015 with a series of talks between Turkish officials and Ocalan, who declared a ceasefire and withdrew fighters to bases in northern Iraq.

Turkish officials took steps to improve Kurdish rights, including allowing Kurdish-language broadcasts. The process collapsed in July 2015, after a series of violent attacks, including one by the ISIS group that killed 33 pro-Kurdish activists.

Since then, Türkiye has cracked down on its pro-Kurdish movement and has jailed thousands of people, including the former leader of the main pro-Kurdish political party, Selahattin Demirtas, over alleged links to the PKK.

Reshaping the region

The latest peace effort comes at a time when Türkiye and the Kurds are both seeking security to face the challenges in the Middle East.

The renewed peace initiative unfolds amid fundamental changes reshaping the region, including the reconfiguration of power in Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad, the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon, and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Türkiye strongly supports a deal reached between Syria’s new administration and the Kurdish-led and US backed Syrian Democratic Forces under which the SDF forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The US envoy to Syria told The Associated Press this week that the sides remain at odds over the merger.

Hamish Kinnear, Senior Middle East and North Africa Analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said Ocalan’s decision to abandon the armed struggle coincides with a period when the PKK’s leverage is weak due to military setbacks and regional isolation.

“The PKK’s armed struggle was already faltering in the face of advances by Türkiye’s military, while its popularity among its traditional base was in decline,” Kinnear said. ”Ultimately, the peace talks were a useful off ramp in which improvement of Kurdish rights could still be pursued."

However, some believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is for Erdogan’s government to garner Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his term ends.

Bahceli has openly called for a new constitution, saying it was essential to keep Erdogan in power for Türkiye’s future. Erdogan and Bahceli are reportedly seeking parliamentary support from the DEM.