Thousands of Shi'ite Muslim and Christian protesters blocked roads across Lebanon with blazing tires yesterday ramping up actions to oust the government. Three were killed and at least 50 people were wounded in gunfire between rival factions.

 

At least 48 people were hurt in scuffles, especially in Beirut and in Christian neighborhoods, security sources said.

 

Black smoke billowed over Beirut as demonstrators shut main roads, including those to the port and international airport, crippling transport across the city. Black-masked Hezbollah organizers prowled the streets on motorcycles, walkie-talkies clamped to their mouths.

 

Lebanese soldiers fired into the air to keep stone-throwing crowds apart in Beirut and on a highway to the north. Daily life was paralyzed in the capital and many other areas of Lebanon.

 

"This government only understands force and today is only a small lesson," protester Jamil Wahb said in the Shi'ite southern suburbs. "We will stay here until they give in."

 

The strike dramatically escalates a Hezbollah-led campaign, supported by Syria and Iran, and its allies to replace the government and hold early parliamentary elections.

 

The army, which has been guarding government offices in central Beirut since the opposition began protesting on December 1, has few extra troops to deploy. It finds itself stretched after moving thousands of men to south Lebanon and the Syrian border following Hezbollah's war with Israel last year.

 

One Christian leader said yesterday's protests were tantamount to a coup attempt against the Western-backed government.

 

PM remains defiant

 

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has shrugged off opposition demands and announced an economic reform plan ahead of a conference tomorrow in Paris, where foreign donors are expected to pledge billions of dollars for Lebanon's debt-laden economy.

 

A senior US official said the Paris conference would bring much-needed economic and political support to the beleaguered Lebanese government.

 

Demonstrators blocked roads to Beirut airport with burning tires and earth barricades. Several Arab and international airlines suspended flights, though the national flag carrier Middle East Airlines made no such announcement.

 

The opposition campaign has raised tension between Sunnis and Shi'ites in Lebanon, still recovering from a civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990. The government is backed by anti-Syrian Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri but its opponents include Shi'ite groups Hezbollah and Amal, leaving Christians split between the two camps.

 

(China Daily January 24, 2007)