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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| High tension prevails in Beirut following bloody clashes |
| 2007-01-27 |
| (KUNA) -- Uneasy calm prevailed throughout the Lebanese capital on Friday following day-long clashes between pro and anti-government activists who fought with fists, sticks and stones in wide-spread violence that also included occasional gunfire shooting. Traffic was thin on most streets, and only a small number of stores opened, after a Lebanese Army-imposed overnight curfew ended at 8:30 a.m. All educational institutions, schools and universities were shut in line with a decision by Minister of Education Khaled Qabbani, and some civilians were seen buying necessities. Army troops manned checkpoints at crossings of roads, some public locations and vicinity of the Arab University that witnessed some of the fiercest confrontations between activists of the March-14 Movement of the influential MP Saad Al-Hariri and followers of Hezbollah. Yesterday's clashes reportedly broke out as a result of heated arguments between two students from the two rival camps on campus of the university and quickly developed into wide-scale confrontations that took the lives of at least three people and wounded 152 others. The war-like scenes at the flashpoints revived memories of the 1975-1990 civil war, when warring factions fought on streets of the city. The street clashes coincided with the convening of the Paris-III conference of donor countries, who pledged up to 7.6 billion US dollars in aid for aiding the government of Fuad Al-Siniora. Some leading figures in the opposition camp, including Hezbollah and other groups namely followers of General Michel Aoun, have criticized the Paris conference and warned Al-Siniora against accepting aid for "certain political purposes that contradict national interests." The clashes yesterday followed a day of striking by the opposition against the government in a bid to press for larger representation in the executive administration. The country has been gripped with serious political crises since assassination of the former premier, Rafic Al-Hariri, February 14, 2005. Now, his loyalists accuse the opposition of fuelling tension and troubles with the intention to overshadow forecast international prosecution of suspected culprits. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Popcorn time! |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-01-27 12:36 |
| #1 Who holds the Holiday Inn? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-01-27 07:52 |