Deadly clashes evoke memories of civil war in Lebanon
Thursday, 08 May 2008 19:59
Deadly gun battles break out in Lebanese capital Beirut as Hizbullah leader says government has "declared war"
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Yesterday's highly-significant Israeli-Hizbullah prisoner exchange has prompted very different reactions either side of the border. Full Story
Gun battles have broken out in the Lebanese capital in the worst infighting seen since the 1975 to 1990 civil war.
Two people have died in the clashes between Hizbullah militants and government loyalists according to the al-Jazeera news agency.
Violence began on Thursday afternoon after Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah said the Lebanese authorities had "declared war" on the Shia Muslim organisation.
"The hand raised against us, we will cut it off," he told Hizbullah members in Beirut via videolink.
Two days of protests have been seen in Beirut following the government's decision to brand Hizbullah's private communications network illegal.
The authorities claim
Iran is funding the network to allow Hizbullah, which fought an inconclusive war with
Israel in the summer of 2006, to avoid monitoring and tap government phonelines.
There are now real fears the dispute could, in the current political climate, escalate into full-blown sectarian conflict.
Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down last November.
Army chief Michel Sleiman has been agreed as a compromise candidate in theory, but 18 parliamentary sessions to formally select him have been cancelled in rows over the makeup of his cabinet.