Michael Ware

Journalist

SUN: Riot in Beirut


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Length: 2:41


TONY HARRIS: Let’s take you back now to Beirut, Lebanon, and CNN's Michael Ware has been outside the U.N. compound which was stormed this morning.

Michael, give us a sense of the scene on the ground now, and then take us back to that scene, oh, about 45 minutes ago, far different.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. The crowd that was here has now started to disperse. It's effectively drained away. And we're just left with a few die-hard protesters lingering around what is now a heavily-defended U.N. headquarters with rows of Lebanese army troops standing in front of it to protect it.

Just a couple of hours ago, we had a small gaggle of demonstrators show up here near the U.N. headquarters. Word rapidly spread, and thousands appeared. It was just a very popular outpouring of rage and anger that I suspect has been pent up for the weeks that this conflict has drawn out.

Very, very quickly, we saw a Hezbollah PR machine step into gear and fill the breach. A public address system was set up, and speakers took a makeshift podium to address the crowd.

It was a very volatile and angry scene. At one point, they turned on the U.N. headquarters, pressing against it, then smashing its windows, throwing rocks, hitting it with steel bars, and tearing up parts of the lobby.

Now they have dispersed. They vented their rage and dripped away.

We're now waiting to see, as a Lebanese security official who was here suggested to me, that this may continue in coming days as it did last year during what is now known as the Cedar Revolution. But only time will tell -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Michael, just very quickly, would you describe this as a kind of spontaneous reaction to the airing of the video of the Qana attack, uncut, into Lebanese homes?

WARE: Well, clearly, that's something that will tend to inflame. However, the mood was set already.

I mean, these people are already tired of their city, their villages, the southern part of the country being bombed. So there's a lot of frustration here. Just the mere news breaking of the fact that the bombing had taken place here today, that there were so many civilian casualties, almost certainly would have been enough alone. Seeing the footage clearly would have just sent tempers even further -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. CNN's Michael Ware for us outside of the U.N. compound in Beirut, Lebanon.

Michael, thank you.