Lebanon PM urges army to restore order
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora called on the army to restore order on Saturday after a fourth straight day of violence between government and opposition supporters left another 14 people dead.
In his first reaction to the Shia militant group Hezbollah's takeover of much of west Beirut, Siniora decried what he called a "poisonous sting" to democracy and vowed that Lebanon would not succumb.
He called for a minute's silence on Sunday to commemorate the 32 killed in sectarian fighting between mainly supporters of the Western-backed government and Shia members of the opposition, raising fears of a new civil war.
The prime minister said he wanted to see gunmen off the streets and removal of Hezbollah-led protester camp set up outside his government's headquarters in December 2006.
"I call on the army to impose security on everyone in all areas and to clear armed elements from the street immediately," he said in a televised address to the nation.
"I have already asked the army command to ensure civil peace.
"The dream of democracy... has been dealt a poisonous sting," Siniora said. "Your country will not succumb to those behind this coup and the Lebanese people will not allow the return of hegemony and terrorism."
Fourteen people were killed in new violence on Saturday, six of them at a funeral procession for an earlier victim of the sectarian fighting.
Five people were also killed in north Lebanon in clashes between the rival supporters, a security official told AFP.
In the capital, six people were killed when gunmen opened fire at the funeral procession of Sunni civilian Mohamed Shamaa, 24, who was killed in clashes in the Corniche al-Mazraa area on Thursday night.
"We have six dead and 20 injured, six of them in critical condition," an official at Beirut's Makassed hospital said.
An uneasy calm had settled over most of west Beirut as people ventured out in the affected areas and cleaning crews swept away the debris.
Few armed elements could be seen on the streets and the army was out in force manning roadblocks. But the main road to the airport remained blocked for a fourth straight day and there were no scheduled incoming or outgoing flights.
Foreigners continued to leave the country by road to Syria, with Turkey and Kuwait evacuating their citizens.
The unrest led to urgent international appeals for calm as Arab foreign ministers prepared to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis on Sunday amid fears among Sunni governments of an increase in the influence in Lebanon of Shia Iran.
Washington has blasted the power grab by Hezbollah and also pointed the finger at Iran and Syria for the unrest, saying they must be held to account.
"The United States is consulting with other governments in the region and with the UN Security Council about measures that must be taken to hold those responsible for the violence in Beirut accountable," the White House said.
The fighting was sparked by the government's decision to probe a communications network set up by Hezbollah and to sack the head of airport security over his alleged links with the militant group.
The violence that ensued between Sunni and Shia militants marked a turning point in the 18-month political crisis that has virtually paralysed Siniora's government and left the country with no president.
Both sides appeared unwilling to give any further ground, with the opposition insisting that the roadblocks that have paralysed west Beirut and the airport road will remain until the government gives in to its demands.
"We are not carrying out a coup -- all of this is related to the government's decisions," an opposition official told AFP. "We are offering partnership... and they want to monopolise power and limit our share."
But Youth and Sports Minister Ahmed Fatfat ruled out any chance of the government going back on its decision to probe the communications network that Hezbollah insists is essential to its defences against Israel.
"It would be easier for the government to resign than to revoke its decision," Fatfat told AFP.
Lebanon's long-running political standoff, which first erupted in November 2006 when six pro-Syrian ministers quit the cabinet, has left it without a president since November, when Damascus protege Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term.
The crippling political divide is widely seen as an extension of the confrontation pitting the United States and its Arab allies against Syria and Iran.
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