Lebanon mourns after Beirut gun-battle left seven dead
Monday, 28 Jan 2008 08:01
Deadly Lebanese demonstration adds to country's political crisis
Schools and universities in Lebanon have been ordered closed today as the country mourns Beirut protests yesterday in which seven died.
Prime minister Fouad Siniora ordered the national day of mourning as he appealed for calm after gunfire broke out during a protest in the capital.
What had begun as a demonstration against power cuts escalated into a gun-battle between soldiers and armed men among the marchers when an official from the Amal party was killed.
A statement from the pro-Syrian, Shia Muslim party confirmed the death of Ali Hassan Hamza.
"This is an hour of sadness. Our country is passing through the most dangerous times," the AFP news agency quoted Mr Siniora as saying.
"I call on all the people to put their trust in the army at these most difficult times and await the results of the investigations that the army and the security services are undertaking."
Up to ten people were injured in the breakup of the protest by troops. However, the circumstances of Mr Hamza's death remain unclear.
Army and Hizbullah vehicles pleaded with those burning tyres and rubbish in the protests' aftermath to return to their homes.
But several people were wounded when a hand grenade was thrown near to a group of people in the Ain al-Rouamaneh suburb, where a massacre had triggered the 1975 to 1990 civil war.
Yesterday's mass demonstrations, deaths and road blockades only add to the country's worst political crisis since that conflict.
Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of November last year.
Arab League ministers are meeting in Cairo this month in a bid to ratify a successor, as the western-backed government of Fouad Siniora struggles with the Hizbullah-led opposition.