Sunni-Shi'ite tension rising in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Apr 12 (Reuters) As Lebanon marks the 31st anniversary of the outbreak of civil war, many fear a new split is emerging between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.

''I have nothing against the Shi'ites but I am 100 per cent sure that they are against the Sunnis as a sect and want to control the country,'' said Hesham Kebbeh, 31, puffing on a water pipe in Beirut's working class Sunni area of Tareeq al-Jedideh.

Violence between Lebanon's Sunnis and Shi'ites did not feature prominently in the 1975-1990 war, which was mainly between Christian and Muslim rivals. But tension is soaring as Lebanon prepares to mark the anniversary tomorrow.

Lebanese authorities are questioning nine Sunni men, including one Palestinian, suspected of planning to assassinate Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Shi'ite group Hizbollah.

The incident has heightened sectarian feeling on both sides.

''Such fears had never surfaced to this extent until the news about the arrests broke out,'' said Osama Safa, head of the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies.

''Even if they were unable to carry out the attack, the fact that a radical group is thinking of this is alarming. The good thing is that this is not mainstream thinking.'' DIVISIONS Leaders of the two sects are at odds over issues dividing the country, mainly the fate of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and the weapons of the anti-Israeli Hizbollah group, which the United Nations wants disarmed.

The Sunnis, led by parliament majority leader Saad al-Hariri, want to remove Lahoud from power and question the need for Hizbollah to keep its weapons six years after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.

Hizbollah, supported by Syria and Iran, backs Lahoud and says it will not relinquish its weapons even if the Jewish state pulls out of a disputed border strip it now occupies.

Ties between the sects have deteriorated since last year's killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which many blame on Syria. Damascus denies any role.

''Before Hariri's death no one could dare say this is a Sunni and this is a Shi'ite. Now we are all talking about it and it is rising,'' said 22-year-old Ali Fatouh, a Sunni.

Samir, a Shi'ite who refused to give his full name, said: ''There is tension between Shi'ites and Sunnis and there is radicalism in Lebanon. This threatens our security.'' Analysts and diplomats play down the possibility of open conflict, despite fears that the Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian bloodshed in Iraq could spill over to Lebanon.

''There is always a risk of this but the fact that leaders from both sides are very aware of it and are trying to contain it is one reason that makes the tension unlikely to turn violent,'' a Western diplomat said.

Religious and political figures from both sects strongly condemn sectarian attacks in Iraq and denounce any talk of a Sunni-Shi'ite rift in Lebanon.

The absence of an armed Sunni faction also diminishes the possibility of a revival of violence, analysts say. The main Sunni clans have long been known as a merchant class.

''Lebanon's Sunnis are not militarily active,'' said Jihad al-Khazen, a prominent columnist for the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily. ''All the tension will not go beyond words.'' REUTERS SRS HS2130