Clashes do not stop in Lebanon

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Tranquility in Beirut. Photo: EFE

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Lebanon is hanging between fears of all-out war and hopes of political compromise as government supporters and opponents battled with rockets and machine guns in the mountains overlooking the capital.

The fighting saw the collapse of pro-government forces in the Aley region, a stronghold of anti-Syrian Druse leader Walid Jumblatt. AP Television footage showed militants from Druse Democratic party standing on the streets and Lebanese Army vehicles on patrol on Monday morning. In the same region in Choweifat, AP Television footage showed various pictures of burnt and damaged buildings.

Walid Shakra a resident in Choweifat said Hezbollah opened fire on houses in the area a day earlier. "The weapon they said is for fighting with Israel opened fire on us, they used heavy artillery for shelling our areas and they stormed our houses", he said.

Meanwhile, Beirut was quiet on Sunday after Hezbollah gunmen left the streets, heeding an army call for the Shiite fighters to clear out. The city was the focus of four days of Sunni-Shiite clashes. At least thirty-eight people have been killed since Wednesday, when a power struggle between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the Western-backed government erupted.

Across the country, there were fears of another slide into civil war. The violence grew out of a long-simmering power struggle between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the government. The opposition quit the Cabinet 17 months ago, demanding a veto over all government decisions. The deadlock has kept parliament from electing a new president since November.

Analysts said the outbreak of violence improves the chances for a breakthrough in the political crisis because the opposition now has the upper hand, which could force the government to compromise.

Hezbollah's demonstration of its power over the past week was a blow to the government. The conflict has also heightened concerns in the Middle East and the West over Iran's growing influence and its intentions in the region.

Meanwhile, Arab foreign ministers met in Egypt to try to find a solution to the latest escalation in Lebanon's ongoing crisis. They called for an immediate halt to the violence and for all gunmen to pull out of Beirut.