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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.