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 06 September 2008 03:14 BST

Violence returns to Beirut after calm

Monday, 12 May 2008 19:17
Sectarian fighting breaks out in and near Lebanese capital Beirut following day of relative calm on Sunday
Sectarian fighting has broken out in and near the Lebanese capital Beirut after a day of relative calm on Sunday.

Automatic gunfire was heard in the city's western district overnight, while the army has been deployed following fierce fighting in the Druze town of Chouweifat.

According to the Reuters news agency, up to 36 people have been killed in the violence between pro-government and anti-government fighters in the mountain town.

Beirut has been embroiled in five days of fighting following Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah's claim that the pro-western government had "declared war" on the Shia Muslim organisation by threatening to shut down its telecoms network.

Pro-US prime minister Fouad Siniora had appeared to dampen the crisis by allowing the neutral army to regain control of Beirut from Hizbullah, while allowing the phonelines to remain under the group's control.

But the al-Jazeera news agency says fresh fighting broke out in the Hamra commercial district of Beirut last night in the vicinity of the home of parliamentary leader Saad al-Hariri, the son of assassinated prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

Up to 50 people are said to have died in the violence of the last week, the worst sectarian conflict witnessed in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The fighting has compounded Lebanon's current political crisis, with the country without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down last November.

Army chief Michel Sleiman has been agreed upon as a compromise candidate, but 18 parliamentary sessions to confirm his presidency have been cancelled in disagreements over the makeup of his cabinet.End of story


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