Lebanese judge charged three army officers and 16 soldiers today over the killing of opposition protesters last month in some of Beirut's deadliest street violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.
The January 27th incident in which seven protesters were killed had raised tension in Lebanon, which is already divided by a deep political crisis, and threatened to spill over into a confrontation between the army and the country's most powerful group, Shia Muslim Hezbollah.
But the military's quick action to investigate the shootings and arrest the soldiers eased the strains with Hezbollah, an ally of Syria and Iran.
Judge Jean Fahd charged two officers and 11 soldiers with firing at the protest in south Beirut over power cuts and the manslaughter of six protesters. He blamed the death of a seventh protester on an unknown assailant.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years with hard labour, judicial sources said.
Fahd also charged one officer and five soldiers with disobeying military orders, charges that carry up to two years in jail, and charged 58 civilians with rioting and attacking soldiers.
Lebanon has been without a president since November. While the Western-backed governing coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition have agreed on army commander General Michel Suleiman as the next president, differences over the shape of a future government have held up his confirmation.
Parliament last week delayed to February 26th a vote on the presidency, the 14th such postponement.