Tensions in Lebanon amid controversy over the role of the US ambassador

In the southern suburbs of the capital, supporters of Hezbollah gathered this Sunday evening to denounce "American interference" in Lebanese internal affairs. ANWAR AMRO / AFP

Text by: Paul Khalifeh Follow

Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti summoned the United States Ambassador to Beirut, Dorothy Shea, for Monday June 29, three days after the broadcast of an interview in which she attacked Hezbollah, considered as a terrorist by Washington.

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From our correspondent in Beirut,

United States Ambassador Dorothy Shea has stepped up in recent days accusing Hezbollah of controlling the government and preventing a solution to the economic crisis. The diplomat has called "  diversion  " the decision of a judge to prohibit for one year the media to interview him.

The magistrate's decision accusing the ambassador of inciting community, sectarian and political dissension embarrassed the Lebanese authorities. An adviser to the Head of State clarified that it "  was not taken on official political instigation  ".

Despite the unprecedented and controversial judgment and the announcement of her summons to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, Dorothy Shea returned to the charge on Sunday.

In an interview with a local TV station, she accused Hezbollah of trying to silence her, silence the media and deprive the Lebanese of freedom of expression.

In the southern suburb of Beirut, a fiefdom of Hezbollah, hundreds of young people gathered Sunday evening to denounce "  American interference  " in Lebanese internal affairs.

At the northern entrance to Beirut, protesters chanted slogans hostile to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, before being violently dispersed by the army.

Meanwhile, supporters and opponents of the judge's decision continue to sputter on social media.

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  • Lebanon
  • United States
  • Diplomacy
  • Hezbollah

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