Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on Tuesday welcomed a call from opposition Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah not to allow Lebanon's political crisis to slide into armed conflict. "These comments are a positive gesture," said Siniora.Nasrallah, head of the Shiite group which is backed by Syria and Iran, has "over the past two days been rejecting any recourse to violence or arms" to resolve the political crisis, he said, according to the premier's office. "We encourage and support these efforts." In a speech to thousands of supporters gathered in the southern suburbs of Beirut for the Shiite festival of Ashura, Nasrallah said: "The only solution for us Lebanese is through political dialogue. We refuse a recourse to arms... The demands of the Lebanese opposition are political, a settlement can only be political and we encourage any mediation efforts to reach such a solution."
Contacts have been under way with Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as the Arab League, since six pro-Syrian ministers walked out of the Siniora Cabinet in mid-November. Hizbollah has since been spearheading a protest to demand a new government of national unity that last week resulted in deadly violence. Four people were killed and 152 injured Thursday in clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims apparently triggered by a row in a cafeteria at Beirut's Arab University between government supporters and opponents.
As a precaution, two Lebanese universities due to reopen on Wednesday will stay closed until next Monday, authorities of the Arab and the Lebanese University said. Hizbollah has been calling for the resignation of Siniora and the installation of a new unity government so that the opposition, which also includes Christian and other Shiite factions, would gain a veto.