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Lebanese army continues deploying in mountain area a day after heavy fighting |
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Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Wednesday, 14 May 2008 |
Smoke rises from a building which was hit with a rocket during clashes in Chouweifat, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 11, 2008. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Lefteris Pitarakis
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BEIRUT, Lebanon - Soldiers deployed across mountains overlooking the Lebanese capital Monday after at least 11 people were killed in fierce clashes between pro-Syrian gunmen and government supporters entrenched in the hilly plateau, security officials and paramedics said.
The fighting lulled late Sunday after pro-government Druse leader Walid Jumblatt called on his Druse opponents in the mountains, who are allied with Hezbollah, to mediate a ceasefire and hand over the region to Lebanese troops.
At least 11 people were killed in the town of Chouweifat near Beirut before a ceasefire went into effect there late Sunday, paramedics said. More than 20 people were also wounded, they said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Iran's state-run Press TV reported on its website that 17 opposition fighters were killed in the mountain clashes. It did not elaborate, and Hezbollah refused to comment.
Officials could not immediately provide casualty figures from other mountain towns where fighting also raged a day earlier. The latest deaths in Chouweifat raised to 49 the number of people confirmed dead in Lebanon since violence erupted Wednesday, in the worst internal clashes since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.
Arab foreign ministers met in Egypt on Sunday and pledged to send a delegation to Beirut to help find a solution. The delegation was expected in Beirut later Monday.
Meanwhile shops and banks began opening in the capital and more civilians were seen emerging from their homes, though traffic was lighter than usual. Many schools and universities were still closed.
Businesses, churches and restaurants were open as usual, however, in the city's eastern Christian areas, which largely avoided the fighting. People packed malls and shopping plaza there over the weekend.
Despite the relative calm in Beirut, a minor clash broke out at dawn Monday between government supporters and pro-Syrian gunmen allied to Hezbollah in the busy Hamra district, security officials said on the same anonymity condition. Two cameramen for Al-Jazeera television, who arrived at the scene to cover the shooting, were lightly wounded and briefly hospitalized, the channel said.
Most gunmen have withdrawn from Beirut's streets, but those from the Hezbollah-allied Syrian Social Nationalist Party remain posted outside the party's offices in the Hamra and Rawche areas. Hamra is adjacent to the residence of top Sunni pro-government leader Saad Hariri, which is ringed by army commandos.
Major roads in Beirut, including the main airport highway, were still blocked Monday with huge sand barriers. The road closures are part of what the Hezbollah-led opposition has called a "civil disobedience" campaign, which it has vowed to continue until the government meets its demands.
Violence erupted last week when Lebanon's government decided to sack the chief of airport security for alleged ties to Hezbollah, and also declared the militant group's private telephone network illegal. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said the decisions amounted to a declaration of war.
After the civil war ended in 1990, all of Lebanon's various militias surrendered their weapons and transformed into political parties, keeping only small arms. Only Hezbollah was allowed to keep its arms because it was considered a resistance movement battling Israel.
But over the years, the groups have accumulated more weapons and reasserted control in different areas.
The Hezbollah-led opposition quit the cabinet 18 months ago, demanding larger representation that would give them veto power over government decisions. The deadlock has kept parliament from electing a new president since November.
Army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman is the consensus candidate for president and the army's success in calming Beirut over the weekend could enhance his chances of being elected.
But Hezbollah's show of force in Beirut served a blow to Washington. The U.S. has long considered Hezbollah a terrorist group and condemned its ties to Syria and Iran. The Bush administration has been a strong supporter of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government and its army for the last three years.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
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