Middle East News
US: Lebanese government hampered by "cynical acts" of Hezbollah
By DPA
May 8, 2008, 20:58 GMT

Washington - The United States Thursday said it was concerned by a flare-up in violence in the Lebanese capital Beirut, after Hezbollah's leader said the government had declared war on the militant group.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack accused Hezbollah of provoking clashes through 'cynical acts of manipulation' and using violence to bring down Lebanon's pro-Western government.

Hezbollah was preventing Lebanon from providing 'basic' government services to its people, McCormack said.

The radical Shiite movement's head, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, earlier said a crackdown on the group's operations in recent days amounted to 'a declaration of war' by Prime Minister Fouad Seniora's government.

Nasrallah said the conflict had 'entered a new phase' as Hezbollah blocked roads into Beirut for the second straight day and gun battles erupted between supporters of both sides.

McCormack blamed Hezbollah for escalating the conflict in recent days, but was not ready to call the fresh clashes a turning point in the months-long conflict.