Lebanon this week remembered the outbreak of its civil war 51 years ago.

If anything, April 13, 2026, ironically looked no different to the days of civil tension in the prelude to the breakdown of law and order among the Lebanese in 1975, between those who wanted to peel Lebanon away from regional discord and foreign agendas and those who wanted to see the country and its people used as cannon fodder.

Half a century has passed but the similarities are striking. Lebanon is again facing its demons and the curse of division, as the majority of its people want Hezbollah disarmed, while those who support the militia insist on fighting Israel in the name of protecting Gaza and, since Feb. 28, defending Iran. They want to help Tehran in its war of resistance against Israel and help protect Iran’s revolutionary doctrine and regime, which is being battered by the US and Israel.

It is feared the storm of civil strife is gathering again, as the government has taken the daring and historic step of negotiating directly with Israel. It seeks to end the conflict through a peace deal that preserves the country’s unity and territorial integrity, preventing Israel creating a security buffer zone in the south. But the Lebanese who support Hezbollah oppose these talks.

Lebanon’s fragile democracy has been struggling for more than three decades to find the means to disarm Hezbollah — a militia that has outgrown the state and its institutions with direct help from Iran and formerly from Syria. It is not an exaggeration to say that the country and its people often find themselves at the mercy........

© Eurasia Review