Hizbullah Buries Baalbek Victims, Hands Over Checkpoints to Army amid Cautious Calm

Hizbullah and Baalbek residents on Sunday held a funeral for the party's members Imad Ballouq and Ali al-Barzawi, who were killed in Saturday's clashes, as the army reinforced its presence in the city.

“Through the blood of our martyrs, we urge all those keen on this country's safety to protect our country from those who are tampering with its security,” said Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, Hizbullah's top official in the Bekaa, as he led the mourners who turned out en masse for the funeral.

“Our hands will remain extended and our hearts will remain open for the sake of the unity of Islam and Muslims and in order to foil strife and confront the enemies, oppressors and Takfiris,” Yazbek added.

The Lebanese army was on Sunday carrying out patrols and setting up checkpoints in Baalbek a day after five people were killed in clashes between Hizbullah and armed men.

The National News Agency said there was cautious calm in the Hizbullah stronghold amid a total closure of shops and markets, except for bakeries.

"We have handed over to the Lebanese army our checkpoints at the entrances and in the center of the city," a Hizbullah source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.

"We are now working on handing over other checkpoints, until the military takes control of them all and it becomes responsible for security."

It was the second time this week that Hizbullah handed over control of its checkpoints to the army, after the military deployed in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Hizbullah set up its own security checkpoints in areas under its control after bombings that wounded more than 50 people on July 9 and killed 27 on August 15.

Militants were deployed for weeks to search vehicles and check people's identity cards.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the fighting at a Hizbullah-manned checkpoint in Baalbek.

"We were preparing to hand over the checkpoints to the army before yesterday's incident, but the incident delayed the handover by a day," said the Hizbullah source.

Earlier, Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that the army's sixth battalion took over all Hizbullah checkpoints mainly the ones set up at the entrances of Baalbek as part of a deal for the military to restore order in the city.

Saturday's gunbattles were sparked by a “personal dispute,” Charbel said, ruling out sectarian causes.

Five people, including a soldier, were killed after clashes broke out between Hizbullah members and al-Shiyyah clan following a dispute in Baalbek’s al-Qalaa marketplace.

Lebanon has been on edge as a result of the civil war in neighboring Syria, with many Lebanese divided between supporters of Presidents Bashar Assad's regime and the opposition.