Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, said Wednesday that Lebanon’s opposition movement had decided to stop short of toppling the government of Fouad Siniora, fearing civil strife. He warned, though, that Hezbollah and its allies would continue to ratchet up the pressure on Mr. Siniora in coming weeks and vowed not to back down on the opposition’s demands. “The opposition has the political, popular and organizational strength to bring down the unconstitutional government today or tomorrow,” Sheik Nasrallah told worshipers commemorating the Shiite holiday of Ashura in Beirut’s southern suburbs. “What has so far prevented the fall of the government that is clinging to power is not international support but the patriotic feelings of the opposition and its desire to preserve civil peace.” The speech followed a crippling and violent strike on Tuesday that brought life to a virtual standstill in Lebanon and led to violence that left three dead and scores injured. Sheik Nasrallah blamed what he called the “government of militias” for Tuesday’s violence, insisting that the opposition had respected the rule of law in its protest. “The war in July showed how many weapons we have,” he said. “But we did not resort to those weapons yesterday. Those who insist they have none, however, did use weapons.”
He was referring to accusations made on Tuesday by Hezbollah members that their supporters had been protesting peacefully when residents of the area started throwing stones at them. The police said Tuesday that at least three people died in the violence and that 100 more were wounded throughout the country. It was the worst since Hezbollah began demanding more political power and began a series of protests late last year. For the past two months Lebanon has been gripped by a political crisis pitting the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies against the American- and Saudi-backed government of Mr. Siniora.
Hezbollah has demanded that Mr. Siniora step down or form a government of “national unity” that would give the opposition veto power and hold early parliamentary elections. Mr. Siniora has refused to resign, insisting that the opposition come off the streets and negotiate. Sheik Nasrallah, at the end of November, called for a huge demonstration in the center of Beirut in an effort to paralyze the government. Hundreds of thousands of people came out on Dec. 1 and began a sit-in. The protesters camped out in tents, and Sheik Nasrallah called for them to remain until the government fell.
The violence began Tuesday when groups of protesters set up roadblocks along major streets leading into Beirut, blocking them with burning tires, trucks and rubble. They set fire to vehicles and attacked cars trying to pass. Many of the clashes in Beirut took place in mixed neighborhoods, where young men on each side shouted epithets and hurled stones at one another. Some of the most violent clashes took place on a highway north of Beirut, where supporters of Gen. Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian group and a Hezbollah ally, fought with men loyal to Samir Geagea, a government ally.
Lebanon slowly inched back to life on Wednesday as cleaners removed roadblocks and debris from streets across the country and as the Lebanese tried to take stock of the political and social implications of TuesdayÂ’s action. Gunfire broke out again on Wednesday during the funeral of one of two people shot dead in the northern city of Tripoli a day earlier, wounding two mourners.