Hizbollah win bolsters its resolve to keep weapons

HIZBOLLAH’S big win at the ballot box in south Lebanon will bolster its determination to keep its weapons in the face of international pressure to disarm, senior pro-Syrian leaders said yesterday.

Syria's staunchest allies, Hizbollah and the Amal movement, swept the south's parliamentary elections on Sunday, winning all 23 seats and confirming their domination among Shi'ite Muslims, the country's largest sect.

"The win... is the decisive expression of our people's rejection of [UN] resolution 1559," Mohammad Raad, head of Hizbollah's parliamentary bloc, said.