Violence in Lebanon escalates

by Al Jazeera (reposted)

Thu, May 8, 2008 7:53AM

Thursday, May 8, 2008 : Army says military's cohesion is threatened as factional fighting sweeps country.

Mounds of earth block the main road leading
to the city's airport [AFP]

Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition supporters have clashed with those backing the government for a second day in Beirut as the confrontation spilled over to other parts of the country. Army and riot police manned checkpoints and blocked several roads while many schools and businesses in the capital remained shut on Thursday.

Tensions have been rising since Wednesday after a strike called by the main labour union to press the government for a salary increase got under way. The demonstration quickly degenerated into violence, with rival supporters exchanging gunfire.

On Thursday, the violence spread outside the capital. Members of opposing camps exchanged gunfire in the village of Saadnayel in the eastern Bekaa Valley.

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For more information: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3EB...

§Lebanese military calls for calm

by BBC (reposted)

Thu, May 8, 2008 7:54AM

Thursday, May 8, 2008 : The Lebanese army warns that its unity will be threatened if the political crisis in Beirut continues.

The capital has been largely paralysed by roadblocks set up by opposition supporters during a second day of protests which started as a strike.

Activity is limited, with many shops, schools and offices closed. The international airport is also closed.

Tensions remain high after Wednesday's clashes between Sunni and Shia gunmen and the army remains out in force.

The Shia factions, led by the Hezbollah movement and its allies, oppose the Western-backed government while the Sunni and Druze factions support it.

Call for calm

For the second day running, the people of Beirut awoke to find their city largely brought to a halt by roadblocks of burning tyres and bulldozed earthworks.

The army was deployed in key thoroughfares and crossroads dividing Beirut itself from the mainly Shia southern suburbs.

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