Beirut Blast Ahead Of UN Tribunal Verdict On Hezbollah Members. Know More About The Militia Group

It is only in 2020, Lebanon found a new government which was announced by the President after Hezbollah and its allies agreed on a Cabinet deal now trying to tackle the country's worst economic crisis.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. (Photo by STR / AFP)

Beirut (Lebanon): A massive blast in port warehouses near central Beirut took place ahead of the verdict on Friday in which four suspects belonging to Lebanon’s armed Shi’ite Hezbollah group are being tried in absentia by the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon related to the 2005 murder of former Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Rafik al Hariri. ALSO READ: Lebanon Explosion: Indian Envoy To Beirut Says No Indian Hurt, Shares Helpline Numbers It is perhaps the only nation in the world that has a ruling government-backed by militia group Hezbollah. Lebanon didn’t have any effective government since caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned in 2019 due to protests against state corruption and mismanagement. It is only in 2020, Lebanon found a new government which was announced by the President after Hezbollah and its allies agreed on a Cabinet deal now trying to tackle the country's worst economic crisis. Let us take you the emergence of Hezbollah in Lebanon What is the history of militant organisation Hezbollah? It was created in 1982 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and regarded by the United States and other Western countries as a terrorist organisation. Hezbollah is also known as the Party of God and remains the most powerful militia group that led several wars against Israel. The group spread its wings and joined the war in Syria in 2012 in support of President Bashar al-Assad. It continued to gain years of military experience from its involvement in fighting the Syria’s civil war and decades of clashes with Israel.  This helped the Iran backed militant group emerge powerful, but the ongoing tiff between the US and China raises question about the group’s existence in modern society of Lebanon. What is so special about the group? The outfit remains a political movement and also a guerrilla army with the backing of Lebanon’s Shi’ite population which also helped in forming Lebanon’s current government. It remained at the centre of world conflict because of the arsenal. The group says its arms are needed to deter Israel and guard against Islamist insurgents in Syria. The group has fought a long military battle against Israeli forces which occupied south Lebanon until their withdrawal in 2000. However, its role in the neighbouring Syria led to increased sectarian turmoil in Lebanon, where the group has remained a target by Sunni militants. How it is being perceived by the world? The group has been labelled a terrorist organisation by most countries including the US, Canada, Germany, Britain, Argentina and Honduras as well as the U.S.-allied, mainly Sunni Muslim Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. In fact, the EU considers Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist group, but not its political wing.