Report: Hizbullah Tells Hariri, Diab It's Not behind 'Scooter Rioters'

Political contacts were intensified over the past two days to prevent any descent into security chaos, a media report said.

“Ex-PM Saad Hariri communicated with the leaderships of Hizbullah and AMAL Movement, expressing his anger, after he thought that the masses took to the streets at partisan orders,” al-Akhbar newspaper, which is close to Hizbullah, reported on Monday.

“Hariri stressed that he cannot tolerate such scenes in the capital and asked about the reason behind the sudden explosion. But he was told by the leaderships of the two parties that Hizbullah and AMAL were not involved, that there was no partisan decision on any street action, that the protesters do not belong to a certain sect, and that they came from several regions,” the daily said.

The leaderships of Hizbullah and AMAL “emphasized that they were not covering any violator” and that Hariri should communicate with the army chief so that “the necessary measures could be taken,” al-Akhbar added.

Hizbullah and AMAL in turn coordinated with the army and started implementing measures in their strongholds, where their neighborhood officials deployed groups on entrances to prevent the exit of any swarms of motorcycles while metallic barriers were placed on some exits, the daily said.

Diab meanwhile was “rattled” by the scenes of mayhem and in turn communicated with Hizbullah’s leadership to inquire whether there was an intention to stage a “coup” against the government, especially that “since Friday noon, some sides loyal to the March 8 camp had started leaking information about a resignation decision.”

“But Hizbullah anew assures that the protesters did not belong to a single region or a single sect, stressing that it is keen on the government because the current situation cannot withstand vacuum,” al-Akhbar said.