I LOVE LIFE- each has a life...

Even the 'I Love Life' campaign divides Lebanon

Wednesday, 17 January, 2007 @ 5:55 PM

By Andrew Lee Butters
Beirut - The Lebanese have a seemingly natural talent for marketing, advertising, and sloganeering which gets applied to politics when the situation demands.

After the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, stark black billboard posters appeared demanding "The Truth" about who killed him, though Hariri's supporters had already decided that Syria was responsible. The anti-Syrian demonstrations that followed the assassination brought with them posters declaring "Independence '05" and soon after the Syrian army did in fact leave Lebanon.

Now the country is awash in dueling "I Love Life" campaigns, as I mentioned in a previous post. The slogan was created by pro-government groups supposedly to raise awareness about the risks of sectarianism in Lebanon. But the Hizballah-led opposition interpreted the campaign as blaming them for the destruction caused by the past summer's war with Israel. (The implication being that Hizballah loves death and martyrdom.) So the opposition copied the theme and launched its own version, this time with a rainbow of colors representing the opposition groups, and slogans like "I Love Life Undictated."

That's a reference to the opposition claims that the Lebanese government takes its marching orders from the United States. Here's a poster with a favorite Hizballah target -- US Secretary of State Condoleeze Rice -- giving lessons to an apt pupil, Lebanon's pro-Western Prime Minister Fouad Siniora -- at the School of the New Middle East. Among the special courses are: spreading sectarian chaos, embezzlement, setting up security states, and trampling sovereignty.

Interestingly, I've never seen a satirical poster in public that links the Hizballah-led opposition with Iran and Syria, even though members of the Siniora government have often claimed that their rivals are the pawns of Teheran and Damascus. This photoshopped picture -- of Iran's President Ahmadinejad and Syria's President Assad as the proud parents of Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud and and Christian leader Michel Aoun (both of whom are part of the opposition to Siniora) -- made rounds on the Internet only.

Perhaps that's because it's worse to be called an American stooge than a Syrian or Iranian stooge in Lebanon these days? I'm not sure. The country seems pretty evenly split between pro-Western and pro-Eastern camps. Or perhaps the Siniora camp is just too afraid to get personal. Notice that there's no image of Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Proud Parents picture, even though he is far and away the most important opposition leader. Hizballah supporters brook no disrespect for their Sheik, and have rioted at least two times in the past year when they thought Nasrallah was being insulted. Such thin skin takes the fun out of politics.

So with the the country divided between Tehran and Washington, between loving life, and loving life with colors, I've got an idea for a Third Way: Supermodel Mila Janovic. She doesn't love life. She doesn't love death. She just loves Mango. I vote for her.

Source: Time Middle East Blog

Lebanon general says army under pressure

BEIRUT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Lebanon's army commander called for efforts to end a political crisis which this week triggered violence and said his forces, which are trying to keep the peace, were under pressure, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

General Michel Suleiman told As-Safir newspaper that the clashes, which killed seven and wounded close to 400, should be "an opportunity for all to revive the discourse of reason and calm".

"True the army is suffering from pressure. That does not prevent it from performing its duty,", Suleiman said.

"The army has been bearing above its load for months and is ready to bear more on condition that officials and civilians also bear their responsibilities in preventing security disturbances."

The clashes this week between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims loyal to rival factions and Christians whose leaders are also split were Lebanon's worst since its 1975-1990 civil war. In that conflict, Lebanon's army split along sectarian lines.

The army imposed a curfew on Thursday night to restore order.

Suleiman in December urged the army to stay neutral in the current standoff between the government, which is backed by Lebanon's strongest Sunni leader, and the opposition including Shi'ite groups Hezbollah and Amal.

Christian leaders including Michel Aoun back the opposition while others such as Samir Geagea support the government.

"There must be a political desire to search for a political solution to the crisis," Suleiman said, warning against sectarian divisions in the country. "Everyone should build one building on one land," he said.

The opposition is demanding veto power in the government and early parliamentary elections to change what they call an illegitimate cabinet. The government and its allies accuse the opposition of trying to mount a coup.

while we are getting tense on each other ...

"Israeli" warplanes intrude on Beirut airspace

Source: AFP & Daily Star, 27-1-2007

BEIRUT: As Beirut`s curfew ended at 6 a.m. Friday and Lebanese looked forward to a day of calm following Thursday`s deadly clashes, "Israeli" forces conducted a series of over flights across Lebanon, including the capital in what was for many a stark reminder of the summer 2006 war.

An "Israeli" plane was seen "circling at a low altitude" off the coast of Beirut early Friday, in violation of the terms of the cease-fire ending the war with "Israel", a Lebanese Army source told The Daily Star.

This was the first time since October 30 that an "Israeli" plane was detected near the capital, but a spokesperson for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFL) told The Daily Star that "Israel" violates Lebanese airspace south of the Litani River, where UNIFIL operates "almost every day."

Liam McDowall said that over the last week there have been "numerous reports of violations" of Lebanese airspace by "Israel", all of which constitute breaches of UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war.

The army said an "Israeli" drone flew over Bayada, near Naqoura, in the early morning, circling the area before flying over Ilma as-Shaab, a border town, before heading back to "Israel". On Friday afternoon, two other planes flew over Lebanese waters and Naqoura.

The National News Agency reported that in the village of Zibddine, in the Shebaa Farms, "Israeli" soldiers opened fire on the surrounding area. "Israeli" forces also patrolled the area around the border village of Ghajar, NNA said.

Abu Mahjoob latest opinion on lebanon

HARAM LIBNEIN

Today's summary CNN

Little Wars

THE UNREST OF 2007

LITTLE WARS

20070124 - Toufoul Abou-Hodeib

Hamra Street at the intersection with Jeanne d'Arc.

When the opposition called for a general strike on Tuesday the 23rd they were aware that given the geo-confessional composition of Lebanon, the strike would have limited success. Furthermore, the banking and economic sectors' call for considering Tuesday a normal working day underscored their de facto alliance with the ruling coalition. Many employees felt, rightfully or not, that they were under threat of being laid off if they were to join the strike - a kiss of death in the current economic situation.

The opposition, therefore, opted for a show of power. Rather than reveal the degree of active support behind the opposition, the strike was to reflect the breadth and multiconfessional character of the opposition's support base. Tens of thousands of supporters from different confessional backgrounds took to the streets of their regions across Lebanon and began cutting off the streets in the early hours of the morning in an attempt to enforce the strike. Despite the opposition's emphasis on the peaceful nature of these actions, even regular Lebanese realized that cutting off roads would be considered a provocation by many and that ensuing clashes were inevitable.

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Fisk today: Robert Fisk: Money can't close the sectarian divide in Lebanon

Published: 26 January 2007

If only money could buy peace - or was the £4bn handed out to Lebanon's Prime Minister in Paris yesterday supposed to help him defeat America's Hizbollah enemies in Beirut's increasingly savage street battles?

For, even as President Jacques Chirac of France was taking the applause for leading Lebanon's debt conference - the US itself pledged £405m, Lebanese troops were fighting to control the worst sectarian fighting so far in the capital. At least four students, one of them a Sunni Muslim government supporter, were killed, apparently by gunfire.

At one point yesterday, thousands of Hizbollah and Amal Shia Muslims were taken by truck from the southern suburbs to the campus of the Lebanese Arab University in Tarek el-Jdeideh. There, students - the Sunnis siding with the government, the Shias with the Hizbollah - were fighting in the lecture theatres. Many local Sunnis feared that the Shias were going to drive them from their homes, and Lebanese troops had to evacuate Sunni students in their own army trucks.

read the article: click to continue

LEBANON WAKE UP

normal?

Life Returns to Normal Gradually in Beirut
Beirut woke up to a calm day Friday after violent street clashes between pro- and anti-government activists spread through the capital, claiming four lives and wounding 169 people.
The rioting between rival Sunni and Shiite Muslims was at a level not seen since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, and came two days after the Hizbullah-led opposition called a general strike Tuesday which was also marred by deadly clashes.

The Lebanese army declared an overnight curfew from 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) until 6:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Friday, the first such action in the country since violent labor demonstrations in 1996.

Beirut streets were deserted after the curfew took hold, except for army vehicles.

But the chaos that swept the city hours earlier stirred fears that Lebanon was plunging into a new civil strife.

"We are witnessing scenes that remind us of the civil war," said Speaker Nabih Berri, urging restraint on both sides. "We must go back to talks. There is no other solution."

"Rehearsal for civil war in the streets of Beirut," warned the headline of the Al Balad newspaper.

"Damn the one who awakened it," cried the bold headline of the leftist As Safir newspaper in reference to confessional dissension.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of "trying to burn Beirut," calling on Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to "evacuate Beirut alleys."

This was a reference to the Hizbullah-led protestors camping outside government headquarters in downtown Beirut since Dec. 1 in a bid to topple Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's cabinet.

Jumblat also stretched a hand to Nasrallah, inviting him over "lunch at my house in Beirut, away from the caves. "Let's sit down and negotiate the Lebanon situation."

The danger of further violence erupting prompted Nasrallah to respond with a call for army orders to be obeyed.

"We are using a Fatwa (religious decree)... in the interests of the country and civil peace," he said. "Everyone should evacuate the streets... we call for the measures of the Lebanese army to be respected."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said from Washington that those who triggered unrest were linked to "well-known" groups. She did not elaborate.

Rice also said that she was worried about Saniora's life.

The clashes first broke out on the main campus of Beirut Arab University (BAU) after a lunchtime squabble between a student supporter of the Moustaqbal movement, headed by parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, and others allied with Hizbullah and Berri's Amal movement.

Minutes later the quarrel spread across campus and soon afterwards the fighting penetrated Beirut's predominantly Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods of Tarik Jedideh, Zokak Blat, Basta and Hawd al Wilaya, where cars were smashed.

Lebanese army troops in armored personnel carriers were promptly dispatched to BAU to contain the confrontation as young men hurled rocks and set fire to rubber tires in a bid to block traffic.

Youths also torched cars and smashed windshields as the troops fired gunshots into the air to disperse the crowds.

Rioters set fire to the office of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) in Tarik Jedideh as well as the Ansar football field on the airport highway.

Hizbullah demonstrators also attacked buildings in downtown Beirut's banking sector shortly before the curfew took hold.

March 14 sources said Lebanese army commandos have arrested two snipers – a Syrian and a Lebanese - from the vicinity of the Sportive City near the Beirut Arab University.

They said the snipers, who fired gunshots in the direction of the citizens, were handed over to the Lebanese army Intelligence Bureau.

Nasrallah voiced concern over what he called the "snipers' phenomenon," insisting that the "killers' identity should be disclosed and should be tried."

He said Thursday's clashes and reports of snipers being involved "verify data" Hizbullah had obtained in recent weeks that snipers have been deployed at a number of rooftop buildings in Beirut.

In a separate incident, security sources said two men in a dark blue Cherokee jeep on Thursday roamed Bikfaya, the hometown of former President Amin Gemayel, inquiring about the location of the Gemayel mansion.

The sources told the daily An Nahar that an investigation was underway at Bikfaya's police station.

Shops and businesses were opened Friday when the overnight curfew ended at 6.00a.m. (0400 GMT), but private and public schools, colleges and universities remained shut across the nation in line with government orders.

The roads where the clashes erupted were covered with litter and rubble, while burnt-out cars, buses and large garbage containers lined streets close to Rafik Hariri international airport.

During the night, the Lebanese army deployed heavily across the deserted capital, staging patrols and erecting checkpoints on main crossings.(Naharnet-AFP)


Beirut, 26 Jan 07, 09:26

TURES BURNING CAUSES CANCER!

Tire burning may lead to cancer spike in Lebanon

Friday, 26 January, 2007 @ 5:24 PM

By Robert Asseily,
Special to Ya Libnan
Beyond the irreparable damage done in dividing the democratic nation of Lebanon, the severe health hazards of burning tires may ultimately be the worst result of "Black Tuesday".

Despite the insistence of the ringleaders of the chaotic protest that plagued Lebanon this week that they did no physical harm to their country or it's citizens, medical experts strongly disagree.

The thick, black smog engulfed Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Tuesday, exposing the majority of the Lebanese population to a toxic gas commonly known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Just as Israel destroyed Lebanon's marine life during the July-August war in 2006, the "opposition" are finishing off the rest of Lebanon's eco-system.

It is common knowledge that burning tires in the open is extremely harmful to human health and the natural environment. The fumes emitted are packed with the many toxic chemicals that tires contain (including volatile organic compounds such as benzene, metals such as lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzo(a)pyrene, and synthetic rubber components such as butadiene and styrene).

The rubber in tires contains 25% extender oils derived from benzene, 25% styrene, a derivative of benzene, and 25% 1,3 butadiene. Both benzene and 1,3 butadiene are suspected human carcinogens. When tires are burned, these chemicals are released.

The term carcinogen refers to any form of substance which is an agent in the promotion or direct involvement in the facilitation of cancer.

Tires are a consumer product not designed for burning. The incineration of tires emits toxic heavy metals including mercury, lead, chromium, beryllium, cadmium and arsenic. A 1997 Environmental Protection Agency report on burning tires for fuel found that a paper mill that burned tires as just 2% of its fuel had:

- 20% increase in mercury emissions
- 179% increase in hexavalent chromium emissions
- 20% increase in benzene emissions

Burning tires releases large amounts of the metal zinc, leading to increases in fine particulate matter related to respiratory and cardiac disease.

Burning tires also releases dioxin, which was recognized by EPA in 1985 as the most potent human made carcinogen known. Dioxin does not break down in the environment but builds up in the food chain, concentrating in meat and dairy products.

Dioxins affect the immune system, fertility, and the unborn child.

Sources: Wikipedia, Greenpeace, Google Research

Letter From a mother in Beirut...

Dear All,

Another day of chaos and turmoil hits the streets of Western Beirut . Something expected after the sectarian mobilization led by the Sunnite faction heading the 14th of March group.
It started in the universities: LAU, Lebanese and Arabic university and gradually went out of control in the dominantly petite bourgeois Sunnite areas of Tarik al-Jadeedeh.. Snipers are said to have entered the scene again. Clashes struck also the Shiite and Sunni mixed quarters of Mar-alliyas.

Finally, the army announced a curfew in the city of Beirut from 8pm to 6 am in the morning. The government is putting pressure on the Army to interfere. How short sighted they are. It reminds you of the war and the demand raised by the phalengist party then. The problem is that if the army interfered with no view for a political solution or compromise it will soon face a division in its ranks.

What next? With no regional compromise in the view, the country will fall gradually into a sectarian war. Already it is hard to visualize how individuals of different factions can coexist side by side at work and university.

They are playing with fire. The Hariri and Saudi factions playing on the sectarian issue are only giving the Sunnite fundamentalist the biggest favor. How long they can keep them under control and how long can Hizbollah keep its rank and files but mainly those of the pro Syrian Amal under control?

The Lebanese aren’t willing to learn from previous experiences. True the Syrians are out of sight but their hands are still Taaili and Taaili kteer.

Let us cross fingers Lebanon needs a miracle.

Love to all

Tayyar.org got hacked tonight

well since there is a curfew tonight for all the baddies and the normal lebs who are cursing the minute they were born in this country....a heaven turning to hell again...
so predictable and so sad .... nobody understands what is exactly happening...

So now everybody is home, so they decided to attack each others' sites
now tayyar.org got hacked
above is the hacker's message

ROGER WATERS LEAVING BEIRUT 2006

perfect day

'Four killed' in Lebanon clashes

Cars and tyres were set on fire outside Beirut's Al-Arabiya University [AFP] Four students are reported to have been killed as rival groups of pro- and anti-government students fought a pitched battle at a Beirut university, leaving at least 35 others wounded. Students wielding clubs and throwing rocks attacked each other at the Al-Arabiya University in a southern sector of the Lebanese capital. Al Jazeera correspondent Mike Hanna said the fighting "started with an argument and then got physical". "It was a very intensive and very serious clash on the campus highlighting the political divisions across the country." The fighting began on the main campus and then moved out on to the street, as students set fire to tyres and cars in order to block traffic. Related story Billions pledged in aid to Lebanon Dozens of men wearing construction helmets and carrying makeshift weapons - chair legs, pipes, garden tools, sticks and chains - converged on the university and fought with police. Troops fired into the air to try and break up the crowds and cordoned off the neighbourhood. Military trucks were used to evacuate the streets of civilians trapped by the violence. Sniper claims Some students claimed that during the fighting they came under fire from snipers on the surrounding rooftops. Those involved were said to be followers of the Future Movement led by Saad al-Hariri, the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority leader, and opposition supporters of the Shia Hezbollah movement and its ally Amal. Your Views "Even with the entire world on his side, Siniora will lose if he hasn't got the Lebanese on his side" anonymous, Lebanon Send us your views Television stations run by both camps blamed each other for the violence. In the first of the deaths reported in the city, it was not clear who shot the student in the head. Hezbollah issued a statement urging its supporters to leave the streets around the university while al-Hariri urged his followers to "remain calm and not respond to provocation". Nabih Berri, the parliamentary speaker and leader of Amal, told several Lebanese television stations: "What everyone should do now is halt the strife." "I call upon you once again to channel all your powers towards reconciliation ... towards national unity," he said. The fighting followed widespread unrest in the country earlier this week when the opposition staged a general strike and subsequent fighting left at least six people dead and scores injured. The opposition is seeking veto power in government and early parliamentary elections to topple the cabinet of Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese prime minister. Siniora and al-Hariri have refused to accept the demands. Al-Taamir clash Another clash between troops and armed men, belonging to a group called the Jund al-Sham, in al-Taamir district near Ain al-Helwa camp in southern Lebanon left three people hurt, including a soldier. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that the fighting erupted after the armed men obstructed the troops' deployment in the area. Soldiers opened fire after the armed men threw stones. Witnesses said three people were injured. The violence came as Siniora won pledges of more than $7bn in aid at a donors' conference in Paris to help rebuild Lebanon following the war between Israel and Hezbollah last summer.

while siniora is gettin g the cash....

University Quarrel Develops to Spiraling Violence in Beirut

- great fights erupt in university... excellent , that is exactly what lebanon needs at the moment ... kids breaking their school desks to fight one another
how pathetic
the university should kick those students out...
or start awarness weeks....until those kids learn
to respect one another....


At least one person was killed and more than 30 were wounded in spiraling violence between pro and anti-government factions in Beirut Thursday.
Staccato bursts of gunfire echoed across the streets as tongues of flame shot up in the sky from dozens of deserted cars.

The sudden outbreak of violence started as a quarrel between students from the al-Moustaqbal movement of parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri and members of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal movement at Beirut Arab University.

Hariri, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Berri issued separate statements calling on their followers to practice restraint and withdraw from the streets.

Ambulances, their sirens wailing, sped across the streets evacuating casualties to Beirut's hospitals.

The state-run Lebanese University and other institutes suspended classes until Monday, in an effort to avoid the spread of violence.

The quarrel started around noontime at BAU and Amal tried to send reinforcements in mini busses from its stronghold in the district of Zokat Blatt to rescue their comrades besieged at the university's soccer stadium in the Sunni District of Tarik Jedideh.

Helmeted troops of the Lebanese Army moved into the BAU campus and opened fire in the air to disperse the mad crowd, said a student who was reached by Naharnet through his mobile telephone.

"The situation is very tense. Moustaqbal supporters are at the basketball stadium and Amal followers are at the soccer stadium. Both factions are separated by army troops," said the student who asked not to be identified.

Meanwhile, Residents of Tarik Jedideh, which is a stronghold for the Moustaqbal movement, rushed to back their student comrades, the student reported.

He said followers of both factions used sticks, bottles and even broke desks to use them are weapons in the confrontation.


Beirut, 25 Jan 07, 14:50

Lebanon conference urges support

Lebanon needs billions of dollars to recover from years of war and debt

A major donors' conference to help rebuild Lebanon has opened in Paris with French President Jacques Chirac urging international support.

Ahead of the summit the US and France pledged $1.4bn (£711m; 1.08bn euros) in aid and loans.

Lebanon hopes to raise up to $9bn to recover from last year's conflict with Israel and massive public debt.

The forum, attended by 40 countries, comes amid anti-government protests in Beirut led by pro-Syrian parties.

Lebanon "more than ever needs the unanimous support of the international community," said the French leader.

"We know that financial stability is essential for political stability in Lebanon and so controlling the debt levels which after the hostilities of last year amounted to 180% of the entire national wealth is the first and most urgent task to be tackled."

Mr Siniora has powerful friends abroad but faces protests at home

In his opening comments Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora thanked the participants for their support:

"Such solidarity empowers Lebanon in its quest to regain its unique role as a bridge builder rather than a battleground, a place of encounter rather than a place of faultlines."

He added that Lebanon, which had been on the path to economic recovery before the conflict, was "now on the verge of a deep recession".

Three people were killed and more than 100 were injured in some of the worst street violence in the Lebanese capital for years on Tuesday, when a general strike brought the country to a standstill.

The Islamic Hezbollah movement, which called the strike, has warned of more unrest unless Mr Siniora steps down.

Debt-laden

Large parts of Lebanon's infrastructure were destroyed during Israel's attempt to wipe out Hezbollah last year.

DONORS' PLEDGES US: $770m aid package France: $648m "soft" loan EU: $518m Rebuilding Lebanon

The country is also heavily indebted from the effects of 15 years of civil war in the 1970s and 80s.

Donations and soft loans are needed to generate confidence, stimulate investment and break the circle of public debt that saddled the country with a massive $40bn burden, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised Lebanon a new $770m aid package as she left for the conference.

She said the pledge would bring the level of US aid to Lebanon since last summer to more than $1bn.

Hours earlier, Mr Chirac offered to lend Lebanon $648m at a concessionary rate, his spokeswoman said.

The European Union is promising another $518m in new aid and loans.

Cost of not helping

Economists in Beirut say the Paris conference is extremely important, coming at a time when the alarm bells are ringing on the financial markets there.

The cost of helping Lebanon... is much less than the cost of not helping Lebanon Fouad Siniora Lebanese prime minister

Speaking to the BBC, Lebanese Economy Minister Sami Haddad said any money raised would help clear the deficit.

"Most of it will go to reduce the debt and debt service... The grants that we will hopefully receive will reduce the debt principle.

"We will probably also get some project finance, ie funding related to implementing some infrastructure projects."

Speaking after lunch with Mr Chirac, Prime Minister Siniora warned potential donors that "the cost of helping Lebanon, however expensive that might seem, is much less than the cost of not helping Lebanon".

Economists say that anything above $3bn or $4bn in soft loans and grants would be good news.

Below that level, he adds, the gathering would be seen as having failed to demonstrate confidence in Lebanon.

Beirut Recovering After Violent Protests

Wednesday January 24, 2007 12:31 PM

AP Photo BEI122

By HUSSEIN DAKROUB

Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Lebanon remained tense Wednesday, a day after Hezbollah-led protesters who want to topple the U.S.-backed prime minister clashed with government supporters across the country.

Three people were killed and more than 170 wounded Tuesday as the two camps battled each other around street barricades with stone-throwing and in some cases gunfire.

The unrest died down after the opposition suspended the strike, saying it served as a warning to the government. The protesters, however, promised more action later if their demands were not met.

The opposition is growing increasingly frustrated after two months of sit-in protests outside Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's offices. The pro-Iranian group Hezbollah wants him to step down or form a new government giving his foes more power.

On Wednesday, Saniora left for France to attend an international donors conference aimed at raising billions of dollars in aid for rebuilding Lebanon. Many parts of southern Lebanon remain a wasteland of destruction and rubble five months after Hezbollah's war with Israel.

Tuesday's disturbances began after the Hezbollah-led opposition and labor unions called for a general strike that was rejected by the government, its political supporters and business leaders.

Opposition supporters took to the streets to enforce the strike by putting up barricades, mostly of burning car tires. Troops intervened and government supporters trying to reopen roads clashed with the opposition in some areas.

The action paralyzed Beirut and areas across Lebanon on Tuesday, and the atmosphere was still tense a day later as children went back to school and people returned to work.

Around the country, roads reopened but commuters enjoyed lighter traffic than usual as they drove by still-smoldering tires that street cleaners had pushed to the roadside.

International flights resumed, enabling the several hundred passengers stranded in the terminal to head to their destinations.

Police, in a final toll of the trouble, reported that three people were killed and 173 injured. Of the 173, 48 suffered gunshot wounds and the rest resulted from blows from sticks or stones.

Tuesday's clashes quickly took on a dangerous sectarian tone in a country whose divided communities fought a bloody 1975-1990 civil war. Gunmen from neighboring districts in the northern city of Tripoli - one largely Sunni Muslim, the other largely Alawites, a Shiite Muslim offshoot - fought each other, causing two of the fatalities.

The day gave a glimpse of how quickly the confrontation between Saniora's government and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies could spiral out of control, enflame tensions among Sunnis, Shiites and Christians and throw Lebanon into deeper turmoil.

Lebanon Gets Life Back After Deadly Clashes

Lebanon tried to get its life back on track Wednesday a day after the Hizbullah-led Opposition called off its one-day strike following violent factional clashes that left three people killed and at least 62 wounded.

All roads that were blocked by burning tires were reopened for traffic Wednesday as shops, banks and other businesses resumed normal work.

Beirut airport also reopened early Wednesday after a day of near-total disruption.

The Opposition, however, warned of far worse to come if the government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora declined to meet its demands.

In a late Tuesday statement, the Opposition said it "has decided to suspend the strike which served as a warning to the illegitimate government" of Saniora.

Opposition protestors staged a nationwide strike on Tuesday, blocking roads with burning tires in the latest show of force aimed at ousting the government.

In its statement, the Opposition threatened it would consider adopting "more effective measures" in the future in its campaign to bring down the Saniora government.

It said the Opposition "will continue to be on full alert to carry out any necessary step if the ruling team remained stubborn."

The threat came shortly after Saniora vowed to stay in office.

"We will always remain together against intimidation. We will be together against internal disputes to safeguard Lebanon," Saniora said in an address to the Lebanese.

"We are at a dangerous crossroads. Either we are heading to a civil war, or to dialogue," he said, following daylong confrontations between anti- and pro-government factions throughout Lebanon which security sources said killed three people and wounded 62.(Photo shows a bulldozer removing rubble from a street Wednesday after the Opposition blocked roads with burning tires)

Beirut, 24 Jan 07, 08:36

Other Headlines
Lebanon Gets Life Back After Deadly Clashes
Beirut Airport Back to Normal after Roads Opened
Saniora Flies to Paris as Airport Resumes Activities
Saniora Wants Extraordinary Session to Contain Mounting Violence
Chirac: Lebanon Unrest Discourages Paris III Conference
Bush: Extremists Trying to Undermine 'Cedar Revolution'
Opposition Calls Off One-Day Strike
U.S. Condemns Violence, Intimidation
U.N. Chief, Russia 'Concerned' About Deteriorating Security Situation
Moussa Calls for Calm in Lebanon
Aoun: More Escalation to Come
Army Reopening Nahr al-Mout Road
Amal MP Pledges More Escalation
Flights Cancelled as Opposition Blocks Roads to Airport
Pro-Government Politicians Slam Opposition for 'Coup' Attempt
Nasrallah Lashes Out at Saniora
Feltman Urges Lebanese to Back Paris III Conference Despite Crisis
U.S. to Announce 'Substantial' Aid Package at Paris III Conference
Geagea: Opposition Leaders Lost Their Nerves, Strike Would Fail
Jumblat: No to Strike Called by Syrian-Controlled 'Kids' of the Opposition
Saniora Accuses Opposition of Trying to Terrorize Lebanese

Warning of new Lebanon protests

Rubble on the streets was a clear reminder of the clashes

Lebanon is returning to normal after a nationwide anti-government strike led by the Hezbollah faction, but the group has warned of more action to come.

Bulldozers cleared debris from Beirut streets after fighting that saw three people killed and 100 injured.

But Hezbollah and its allies stressed even more dramatic steps would follow if was not granted a government role.

There was no indication that any deal was reached to end the strike, leaving Lebanese fearful of a new flare-up.

The BBC's Jim Muir, in Beirut, says people in the city are well aware that there could still be worse to come.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has been campaigning since the beginning of December to replace the Western-backed cabinet with a government in which it would have a veto.

But Prime Minister Fouad Siniora still enjoys strong support from his loose alliance of Sunni Muslims, Christians and Druze, and is backed by powerful outside players, including the US, France and Saudi Arabia.

Scorched roads

Many Lebanese found themselves unable to go to work on Tuesday as businesses were closed, roads blocked and flights cancelled.

The strike then turned violent as opposition and government supporters fought in the streets, burning barricades, throwing stones and exchanging gunfire.

We may be causing some pollution, but it's better to put up with that for a few days than to put up with the pollution of this government Opposition protester in Beirut Q&A: Lebanon protests Lebanese strike viewpoints In pictures: Beirut protests

Roads around the country were cleared by sunrise, though, after bulldozers took to the streets at night to clear away the burnt remnants of tyre barricades.

Beirut's international airport re-opened on Wednesday morning, reports said.

But the scorched roads and traces of broken glass were a reminder of a traumatic day which people will not be quick to forget, our correspondent says.

The opposition is demanding a big enough share in government to give them veto power over any decisions they do not like - a step the Western-backed government has not been willing to take.

Mr Siniora has said he will stand firm against what he called "intimidation" and government officials insist they have made no concessions to persuade the opposition to back down.