Politicians and a parade of diplomats have voiced concern in recent days that indictments to be issued soon by a U.N. tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will usher in a new era of political instability, or even bloodshed, should the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah be fingered in the killing.
“People are more worried than ever,” said one high-ranking government official who declined to be identified by name. “I tell my employees I don’t expect street violence, but I have the impression they don’t believe me.”
While Lebanese continue with their daily routines, some are securing second passports or visas in case their country – once again – spirals out of control…
The last thing the United States wants now is a new Sunni-Shiite battle front as it struggles to contain similar sectarian tensions in Iraq, observers here say. Israel also is watching events anxiously, concerned that any internal Lebanese squabbles could spill southward and spark a renewed confrontation with Hezbollah, with which the Israeli military waged a deadly war to an inconclusive end in 2006.
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