Hezbollah-led protest leads to clashes, violence in Lebanon

Beirut- Protesters from the Hezbollah-led
opposition clashed with supporters of Lebanon’s U.S.-backed government
Wednesday as a strike by the Shiite militant group paralyzed large
parts of the capital Beirut.

The violence deepened tensions in a country already mired in a
17-month-old political crisis pitting the Iranian- and Syrian-backed
Hezbollah against the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The
troubles have left the country without a president since November.

The strike was called by labor unions after they rejected a
last-minute pay raise offer by the government as insufficient. But
instead it turned into a showdown between Hezbollah and the government.

The clashes began when government and opposition supporters in a
Muslim sector of Beirut exchanged insults and began throwing stones at
each other. Witnesses said security forces intervened and gunshots were
heard, apparently troops firing in the air to disperse the crowds.

A cameraman for Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station was hit by a
stone in the forehead, the state-run National News Agency reported. A
soldier also was hit in the mouth by a stone.

Earlier in the same area, a stun grenade thrown into a crowd lightly
injured three protesters and two soldiers, the agency said. It was not
immediately clear who threw the stun grenade.

Around the city, protesters blocked roads with burning tires, dirt,
old cars and garbage cans to protest against government economic
policies and demand pay raises.

The protests and labor strike paralyzed Beirut international
airport. Airport employees stopped working for six hours while
opposition protesters blocked roads to the country’s only air facility
leading to the cancellation or delay of 19 incoming and 13 outgoing
flights.

The unrest and roadblocks forced labor unions to cancel the main public demonstration planned to coincide with the strike.

Lebanon’s political crisis took a turn for the worse this week when
the government decided to confront the powerful Hezbollah. The Cabinet
on Tuesday said it would remove Beirut airport’s security chief over
alleged ties to Hezbollah.

The government also declared that a telecommunications network used
by Hezbollah for military purposes was illegal and a danger to state
security.

Hezbollah and Shiite leaders rejected the government’s decisions, raising tensions ahead of the planned labor strike.

Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist group by the United States. It
has fought Israel for more than two decades, most recently in the 2006
summer war, and enjoys wide support among Lebanon’s 1.2 million Shiites
who are believed to be the country’s largest sect.

The political crisis has exacerbated the country’s economic
problems. Rising oil prices and a weakening U.S. dollar, the favored
currency here, have driven up the cost of living.

Just as the country is divided politically into opposition and
pro-government camps, the unions were split as well on whether to
support the strike. In Shiite sectors of the city where Hezbollah
support is high, the strike was widely observed, with most businesses
closed and streets empty.

In areas where government support is strong, some businesses were
open but many people stayed off the streets and traffic was lighter
than usual amid a heavy army presence.

Many schools throughout the city were closed because there was no busing for fear of unrest on the roads.

Roads to the Beirut seaport also were blocked.

The U.S. Embassy advised Americans to avoid areas where protests
were going, to take “reasonable” security precautions and maintain a
low profile in public.

Lebanese soldiers stand guard, foreground, as opposition activists burn
tires during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008.
Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut
and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an
anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between
the militant Shiite group and the democratically elected government of
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora

Lebanese soldiers stand by burning tires during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008.

Opposition activists burn a car during a protest called by labor
unions in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Supporters of
Lebanon’s Hezbollah-led opposition blocked roads with burning tires and
paralyzed the airport in the capital Beirut Wednesday to enforce a
strike against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister
Fouad Siniora

A car burns as opposition activists try to block roads during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008

An opposition protester holds a gasoline bottle as he stands near a
burning car during a protest called by labor unions in Beirut, Lebanon,
Wednesday, May 7, 2008.

Source: Yalibnan