and she was one of the fastest growing nations in the world news. ronnie, cousin needed to oakland and development school international shipping to become a pain middle eastern pro, trade and learning skillfully myself re key as of 2, both filling a prominence of connecting the world connecting future won a cost cutters, gateway to whoa trade. ah, this is al jazeera ah, hello, i'm emily ang, when this is the news, al alive from doha, coming up in the next 60 minutes. protests in lebanon against the judge leading the investigation into last year's beirut blast turned violent. 6 people are killed.

the violence in people running to cover with civilians told to stay off the strait . the army is out in full force in the lebanese capital. as security forces search the snipers and try to contain the situation. ah hello and welcome to the program. we begin with breaking news out of lebanon, where for more than 5 hours, the capital has been rocked by gun fire and rocket launched grenades. what started out his protest against the judge leading the investigation into the port blast has turned into chaos. at least 6 people have been killed and many more injured crowds aligned with shi, a political parties were demonstrating. when gunfire began, the interior ministry says snap is began. shooting aiming for people's heads. the

snipers were on top of the buildings of a gunman could be seen firing in the strait docking behind, cause there has been multiple explosions, and many people are hiding in their homes. have bella and his allies have accused judge carrick, a bit of being politically biased, and he's prob, of the blast, but they haven't provided any evidence of correspondence. zanna what is covering the protest and she has been for some hours now. what's the latest on the ground? there is zayna. well, for the past hour the guns have fallen silent. we are now where this was a war zone. an hour ago it was a war zone. there seems to be an on declared a truce between these 2 political groups who supporters were battling out in the streets of the lebanese capital. this highway really is a dividing line. it divides 2 neighborhoods. if you like 2 strong holds 12 hour, right? which belongs to the main, the she are parties, i'm

a and has the law and the other direction. it's the i know remaining neighborhood which belongs to the christian lebanese forces a party, an hour ago. we would not be able to to be here. intense gun battles. we heard loud explosions, rocket propelled grenades were used really fierce confrontations that lasted almost nearly 5 hours. the lebanese army was unable to contain the situation. they are now deployed and out to in force. as you can, as you can see, it was really a dangerous escalation that according to hezbollah and i began when the protesters were heading towards the just this palace were ambushed in the space meant as well. and i must say that the sniper opened fire, and they're actually pointing the finger at the lebanese forces. now the lebanese forces has denied this. they've denied this charge,

and they're calling for an investigation. so it's very hard to independently confirm what happened. but this is, according to the authorities, how this escalation, this, the interest escalation began. so an undeclared truth, it is not clear what stopped this confrontation. maybe one of the reasons could be it is simply because the country wasn't what could have descended into a dangerous security situation. zayna, i can say, well, we just saw before. they were members of the army behind. you tell us a little bit about their role and the tenuous role i in the situation well, the army is in a very, very difficult position because if it were to intervene and seen to side with one party against the other, then it could risk dividing along sectarian lines because the makeup of the army,

the sectarian, make up of the army, mirrors, the sectarian makeup of the population. and during the civil war, in the 1980s, the army, a split, split because it took aside in the conflict. it's really the interest times. this may be about a judge, a judge who has been i'm, i want to removed. they believe he should be dismissed. they're calling him, they're saying he's politicized. he is biased, and he is being selective in who he wants to. a question, and of course you have the opposition who is saying that has the law and i'ma are carrying out the coup against the judiciary against the state, the imposing it's will a using harms. they want to get rid of judge baton because they feel that they, they want something to hide, that this is what the opposition is saying. a judge baton really is symbolizing too many people, the rule of law in this, in this country. the judge is looking into the case of the baby reports explosion, which destroyed neighborhoods and killed more than $200.00 people. he's been trying

and attempting to question officials, former and current officials who knew about the presence of ammonium nitrate in the warehouse, which was unsafely stored along side flammable materials, but did nothing about it. he wants to charge them with criminal negligence. but he hasn't gotten any cooperation from the political and security establishment. so the crisis today, you know, stems from this from, from ta ta bit, tar. whether or not this on declared truth or what seems to be a deal, a has anything to do with the future of judge the tar. we're gonna have to wait to see and the hours and days in the coming hours and days. but, but clearly a dangerous escalation on the street, but i have to say the crisis is not over. there is political, political crisis because asthma are threatening to withdraw their ministers from cabinets. if judge baton is not removed, so a dangerous escalation, the situation has been contained on the ground. but there is still

a political crisis in the country that could really paralyze much needed decision making at a time that the country is facing an economic collapse than a stay with us. we want to hear more from you and your experiences there. but 1st of all we've, we've heard from lebanon's minister of interior, he says that 6 people in total were killed during the protest. and they were shot in the head. the real threat lies in the use of weapons and, and those who have targeted peaceful demonstrators. there were peaceful demonstrations everywhere during the past 2 years, but we have not seen such an attack against them. zayna, we want to cross back to you. now we can say the, i mean they're given all the unrest and the allegations of corruption. will the lebanese people, every get justice, can this investigation tangibly continue? well, we will have to wait and see whether or not yes, can you hear me?

can you hear me? we can hear you go on, talk to us about the implicate. hear me on the investigation. well yeah. a few days ago the investigation was suspended because of a legal loss. so that was filed by former ministers who judge, but tar wanted to summon for questioning. but the court throughout that legal challenge and this morning judge baton was allowed to resume his investigation. but the question is he keeps summoning officials, officials refused to show up. they hide behind immunity. they hide behind the law. and just baton has issued to arrest warrants against 2 former ministers and the interior minister or the security agencies have not made any move to arrest them. so they tar his up against that political and security establishment that is

refusing to cooperate. so even if he stays in his position is going to be very difficult for him to pursue and move forward and find the answers that he needs. but the biggest question, many ask here the whether or not the accountability and justice will be served in the country with the culture of impunity in a country where those who hold power are above the law. who those, these but that the politicians and the political parties who are stronger than the states who are better armed then the army. so because the state is so weak, that really baton is, is up against a strong political class that has united the political class has closed ranks refusing to cooperate with, with bitter. but the families, the families are of the victims. are hoping that to us will one day be revealed.

they want to know they want somebody to be held to account for keeping the ammonium nitrate sword at the warehouse and endangering the city. because the baby with port is in the city, close to a highway close to residential, close to residential neighborhood then. and while the situation appears to have come down now and we are saying the military and the military tanks on this straight, does this have the potential to escalate again and escalate to a civil war type on rest? i don't think we can rule that out, but the very fact that some sort of a deal was free to calm the situation and control the situation and prevent it from spreading an indication that the political parties know that they will not benefit. and they have nothing to benefit from an escalation on the ground. the international community has its eyes on leverett, on the international community,

really has issued a lot of statements concerning the bay report. the explosion saying that the authorities need to cooperate. there needs to be a transparent investigation, the international community, putting really a lot of pressure on the political class that has been governing this country for decades, telling them that they need to fight corruption. they need to stop the mismanagement that has been happening over the years in order for them to be eligible for international financial assistance. so they raise the stakes. over the past 2 days, the stakes were raised with a demand to dismiss better. yesterday the equation was removed, natar, or else will paralyze the governments. today it seems remove better or the security situation could deteriorate. so these are dangerous equations and they read all, all the different political parties realized that they will not benefit. it could have been around of negotiations, but it seems the situation will be quiet,

and now they will try to find some the messages were given. if you'll, if, if you want to put it that way, messages were given all sides gave each other the message that they wanted to get. now we have to see what kind of deal has been i ripped out. and the balance of power is in who's favor this? we will see it will be obvious in the hours on the days to come. ok, zayna will cross back to you later on in the bulletin. appreciate your hard work. there is zayna caught out reporting live for us in beirut, staying with this story now and let speak to my dow, a professor of communications at the american university of bay road. thanks for joining us, mike. at the end of the day, i spoke to zane her about this, the lebanese paper, one accountability and justice. and are they likely ever to get that now given what's unfolded on the straits this morning? ah, it's obvious that that is a very difficult troves. eventually they will get there, but what's standing in front of them and facing them off is basically malicious militias with weapons who attempt to undermine government by threatening to leave

government, who's security agency officers, visit the court house and issue threats to a judges and then leak them to the press. and 3rd, they mobilized people in the streets with weapons, with a rocket launchers and automatic machine guns and fire at homes. and instigates fights within the is for the streets off they route all to prevent ministers who have been accused and already and dictate in corruption through international sanctions that have been imposed on them. all of this 6 people died today, several tens of people injured, a lot of destruction on because to could opt ministers do not want to attend a hearing with the judge who has accused them of negligence for there. but for men's, when they were ministers in the head,

and when those ammonium nitrates that exploded in lebanon, the 3rd biggest non nuclear explosion in the history of mankind, those people don't want to even show up to the investigation. they are both. now i'm running away from just this, they are out there and they're trying to protect themselves with armed protesters. unfortunately, it has caused 6 people to die because to cut up politicians don't want to show up. so yes, just this is on the right course. the legal attempts at undermining and removing the judge have both times failed. the 3rd one is going to be through political pressure. and thus they have went through a tedra seeing the streets and increasing pressure on the government that they have . and there was leaks from the minutes of the meeting of the ministers and the minister of culture who is a, has been law. and i'm a partisan. he basically said,

you either take a political and legal decision to remove the judge, which is an intervention by the executive power into the judicial power order. we will no longer allow this government to meet and he threatened the entire government, including the president of the country, the prime minister and every one else. and that is when it stopped political pressure. and now the government is in limbo. this government that is supposed to be doing something to alleviate the economic situation and the hardships in lebanon just got itself again, held hostage by his bela that arms. there are malicious and the street in politics because they participate and the government only to protect the interests of it on and their diminishes and their interventions in sooty and other places. justice 11 home has not a priority for them. it is always a conspiracy theory to try and undermine them on twitter and other social media.

their partisans today are saying that this judge just became the beachhead for the u. s. intervention and to the been his politics another lie creating another fate. conspiracy theory to try and undermine justice, that would offload the government and the entire state of lebanon. there should be a firm response from the government. there should be it called for a meeting immediately for the government. and it should take steps to protect judge justice and their independence of the judiciary. the judge today got that i truly, which is the ruling that he can't continue to perform his duties against the advance of the ministers to remove him. he is back on his job to morrow morning, and they, it show up to the court of justice and it has every right to address mark a given the political stage, this political system rather, what does the future hold for lebanon? how do we escape this cycle?

of so called corruption are going forward i believe that process is about a complete reform. we cannot reform this country with the same people who got us into this mess. we cannot wait for the country with militias independently from the state. opened a thing that on foreign policy opening their own wars and then dictating what happens in terms of the operation of the security, the judiciary and others. so this to requires a formal reform and this is the man on the president, the prime minister, and everyone who is in the state, as well as the opposition to this govern government that they need to stand to protect the states from the militias has but law is the main organization undermining the state? the only way that will happen, it will not happen by an international intervention. there are deals happening all

across the region between the french, the americans are withdrawing from the region. so it's down to lebanese local political parties to stand and say we want to it on this country based on the constitution and the laws no longer to by force of weapons. therefore, what is needed now is the form and the reformists, who are supporting the functioning of the state the explosion the investigation. is edie ill test? if that logic can rule or again, lebanon's falls into the trap of being ruled by a gun by a militia, for the purpose of serving it ons interest in lebanon, mac stanley reform is an appeal challenge for the country. you're saying that it needs to be lebanese late, but surely the international community can put pressure on the governance. what would you be hoping or what do you think the international international community is viewing or hadn't think viewing what's unfolded today?

i believe they realize that it is not enough to do economic reform when they say the forms it has to be politically for reforms and pushing forward withholding parliamentary elections and municipal elections in the coming 6 months. 7 months is extremely important. in addition to that, they need to realize that if they leave ministers to, i've already been sanctioned by the u. s. unsanctioned by europe unsanctioned by other international organizations, those ministers will keep on fighting even violently them and their political parties to stop the government from moving forward or reforming bus, putting pressure on those individuals. the individual is responsible for the calm of protest with arms that lead to the death of 6 people and instigating fights between christians. anders shied community to day. the international community is

called upon to accuse those individuals and think sanctions that european parliament previously few months ago took a decision on the framework and then voted within the european parliament on the entire framework for sanctions on lebanese politicians for their obstruction of justice or corruption now is the time to start applying those sanctions on those individuals because if they don't put a limit and it cost to their actions that are willing to get us down to blood and gore again to maintain their power and to undermine the state. so the international community needs to be extremely fair with those political parties that have mobilized militants with arms today and have taken action, they need to be sanctioned and they need to be condemned. mike, i'm really getting a sense of your anger here. do you think that reflects the broader lebanese community? i mean, is this going to read night, the anger amongst the lebanese hub.

i was born in the seventy's and my parents used to hide me in alleyways away from bombs and guns and believe in the civil war. today what we're mostly seeing and what is really disturbing is we saw students in those areas being in put in hiding by their teachers, from bullets and bums around them. seeing that is a terrifying experience. another generation being hit in alleyways and in part, kings and basements. again, we don't deserve this. they need to be stuck and we need to find them now before this spreads and has been lambert arms and the militias, again, domain name to a country for their political power and not for the governance or the benefit of the live in these people. i think everyone in those streets and neighborhoods that were fight thing today. they know that they are on

a barrel about to explode. they need to step up. they need to protect their lives and the government and the army need to be there for them until we contain this and we belong to the attack. and the assault by has been law under to the should. this is the best that we need to fight to avoid seeing our kids and basements again, mock a lot of alady and ease from outside of lebanon. can you get a sense? so give us a sense of what it's like to leave there. now, you know, facing these vast economic pressure is, ah, the beirut port explosion in that sense of death that's happened the last year or so, give us a sense of what it's like to leave in lebanon now. and wayne, hif, at the future lies we are in the complete siege, armani, stockton, the banks. electricity is only provide that for 2 hours everything else as backup generators and the cost of living have skyrocketed because the income and the

currency has fallen to bits and pieces. most people burly work, they just show up, but there's nothing to do. and now with the deterioration in the sector to a situation which already has been through increased off fasts of attacks of assaults. and now gun fights. this is we're besieged in our daily lives, in on every level economic, social and everything else. people are sticking to their homes, doing the basics. there is no hope in the future. they're just hoping not to morrow . they will be safe. that is how about the situation is in lebanon. and then we've got the biggest numbers of few and capable individuals emigrating a double digit numbers of our house. good workers, half left, half businesses have closed. so we're in very bad shape. and yet arms comes to you to slaughter us in the streets because they want to fight political battles

using the blood off and the some people in the streets returning to that conflict this morning. the interior minister says, though, is he prepared for the demonstration as showed us that it would be peaceful. and the shooting began with snipe is taking aim at people's heads. what ye make of his comments, that they were assured that it would be a peaceful demonstration. that would be an excellent line and the stand up comedy in those has been on how to get emily, except if he just came to the country yesterday. i think his statement is a covered up for his bottle and i'ma, and he should be condemned for that. not only that is an active judge who asked to be part of this government and condition that he goes back to the judge at all that he has. this person is an employee of the government was performing at all for the cotton turn just to have the python. i think it's more respectful for those who

died, that he from the start is responsible also for the protest and what happens because his role as minister of interior is to protect people and he failed the least he could have done after 6 people buying, being unable to protect homes and the protest and everything if he had any sense of decency, as a judge or a human, he would have resigned and left home. instead, he gave that funny ridiculous statement, which is a shame for a person like him in that position to say after people have died in the streets. hattie say the next to alleys in days unfolding. do you think that you are likely to say that reform usa desperately after i think the fight now is to see if this government can contain the onslaught. the 2nd thing to watch out for is to see judge be thought if he is known to continue with in his investigation. 3rd is

to see movements and protest movements by people, specially the families of the victims of those who died in the ogre towards explosion. their actions and how they're going to act because if there are people in the streets, if there is implement the can fight and judicial fight is on, then yes, the path of the form is still open and we can move forward. and those are the 3 things ought to be keeping an eye off. speaking of one of those things, the investigation showing now it's no longer able to continue given what's happened this morning and the pressure on the judge. how do you say it any internal investigation unfolding? surely it now needs to go to perhaps an external party to investigate. the process has already started within the live in the judiciary and external park . it to investigate has to take that decision by the government. the government currently is controlled by the prime minister. is there like, i don't see any international investigation coming, neither through

a un security council decision like the international tribunal for the how do i sense the nation back in 2005, nor this current government with michelle and as president me prime minister will do anything to upset has been that much out of his cronies, and i believe our best shot is still protecting the news investigation. in the short term. it fails. we have a lot of course, but to go for an international investigation. but that's requires international endorsement, and i don't think the countries such as friends or others really have that as a priority for themselves. again, the burden is on the news to find the malicious non shut off of the international community and ability to protect the judge and the legal system to withhold offers butler and their weapons. while we appreciate your insights, they're marked our professor of communications at the american university of beirut

. appreciate your time. thank you. alleys. hannah is a retired lebanese general. he says the regional dynamics are different than those which created the conditions for the lebanese civil war. as well as the local player, though he is a hybrid, it is within the state and outside the state is within the state when it suits him . and he's outside the state when he's really performing a regional goal like additional role like an seo like in yemen like in iraq. so it is totally different. however, we still have israel, that is really can benefit from the situation. let's say this sniper that everybody is talking about, i don't know, i have no idea so far. so when you have such kind of things, you like to call them, they can go inside and really make living on an, in this price situation. usually,

lebanon is in this price to do the way that may lead to civil war. and then, what if it was for everybody every time, everywhere during the history on all the political use and when employed, however, maybe has to assert himself as the main play of as the main, the core to player of the politic 11. and because what you, what we've seen from has been we have seen also organize on be you know what, i thought it is not. however, everybody is accusing. doug, be thought as funny. defy. yes, i'm going to think is what it is in life. even in the united states, america and level on the judges are assigned by politicians and they bring their own people to this place. but this guy, let him play because i think he followed certain areas. he said, everybody that really received a letter in the letter about the you know,

and if that money on will be ask for responsibility. you know what i mean? so why we don't let this play goes on and goes on. okay, let's recap our top story. now what we do know is 6 people have died and more than 30 people are injured after violence or opted in the capital by rows. it began when protest is hezbollah and his allies were demonstrating against what they say was biased. investigations into the bay route port explosion make use the judge of political bies and he's probably the investigation has been repeatedly. c stoled by political in fighting now that violence erupt, it for some 5 hours. it seems to have calmed down now, but the ramifications will be felt for days and months ahead. ok. name selim is a professor of international affairs and diplomacy at no truck, no true dom university in lebanon. he says today's events and not in the interest

of his, the law all their allies.