Middle East News
Fresh clashes in Lebanon as army tries to contain conflict (Roundup)
By DPA
May 12, 2008, 13:26 GMT

Beirut - Fierce fighting erupted again in northern Lebanon Monday, escalating tension after days of deadly sectarian battles that have driven the nation to the brink of a civil war.

Clashes broke out between supporters of the Western-backed government and militants loyal to the Hezbollah-led Shiite opposition in two neighbourhoods in the port city of Tripoli, a security official said.

Lebanon has been engulfed by six days of fighting that has left at least 58 people dead and nearly 200 wounded, the worst unrest since the 1974-1990 civil war.

According to hospital sources, among the dead were at least 15 Hezbollah militants and 12 followers of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

Mount Lebanon, where heavy clashes took place on Sunday, witnessed a cautious calm and army troops continued their deployment in areas which had seen tension.

The ruling Sunni-led majority meanwhile vowed it would not negotiate with Hezbollah under the gun, as Arab ministers prepared to send in a team to try to end the political crisis.

Government sources said the Arab delegation was scheduled to arrive in Beirut on Wednesday via the capital's international airport.

According to unconfirmed reported, the delegation was insisting on using the airport, which has remained closed since Thursday.

In Tripoli, the clashes eased off in the afternoon as soldiers managed to persuade the militants to get off the streets.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the mainly Sunni Muslim city, where weekend violence had left 12 killed.

In Beirut, there was an uneasy calm, although schools and some businesses were still shut. Some barricades put up by Hezbollah fighters and their allies remained.

During the latest tension, the Iranian- and Syrian-backed militant group managed to seize large parts of predominantly Moslem West Beirut last week.

Clashes turned deadly last Thursday after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused the government of effectively declaring war against his party, and fighting spread to other parts at the weekend.

But opposition fighters withdrew from the capital's streets on Saturday after the army acted to overturn two government measures against Hezbollah that triggered the fighting.

Talal Arslan, an opposition Druze rival, to whom Jumblatt handed negotiations with Hezbollah, said 'Up to now the followers of Jumblatt have still not handed in their arms.'

Arslan threatened that he would give up his negotiations unless Jumblatt's followers hand over their medium and heavy artillery weapons.

Such incidents have raised fears the situation could escalate to plunge the country in all out civil war that can be bloody.

The Lebanese crisis is widely seen as an extension of the regional confrontation pitting the United States and its Arab allies against Syria and Iran.

Meanwhile a US warship which was deployed off Lebanon in February amid concern over Lebanon's political crisis, crossed Egypt's Suez Canal on Sunday on its way to the Mediterranean, Lebanese local radios said.

Lebanon's political standoff, which erupted in November 2006 when six pro-Syrian ministers quit, has left it without a president since November, when pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term.