LEBANON: A day of protest and rage throughout the Lebanese capital and beyond

Thousands of Shi'ite Muslim and Christian protesters have blocked roads in Lebanon with blazing tyres in a campaign to oust the government, and at least a dozen people were wounded in gunfire between rival factions. At least 48 people were hurt in anti-governemnt protests in Lebanon on Tuesday (January 23), especially in Beirut and Christian areas, security sources said. Black smoke billowed over Beirut as demonstrators shut main roads, including those to the port and international airport. Black-masked Hezbollah organisers prowled the streets on motorcycles, walkie-talkies clamped to their mouths. Lebanese soldiers fired into the air to keep stone-throwing crowds apart in Beirut and on a highway to the north. Daily life was paralysed in the capital and many other areas of Lebanon. "I support the opposition in all force because the people should not wait for any party to do their job for them, they are hungry and they need to take charge of their situation," a Lebanese lady told Reuters as she flashed a V-for victory sign. Six pro-government loyalists were wounded, one of them critically, by shooting during an opposition protest in the northern Christian village of Halba, security sources said. In other violence, a gunman fired on protesters in the ancient Christian town of Byblos, wounding three people before soldiers arrested him. Two protesters were wounded in a shooting in Batroun. An opposition supporter was hit in the head by a bullet near the mountain village of Sofar. The strike dramatically escalates a campaign by Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, and its allies to replace the government and hold early parliamentary elections. The army, which has been guarding government offices in central Beirut since the opposition began protesting there on December 1, has few extra troops to deploy. It is already stretched after moving thousands of men to south Lebanon and the Syrian border following Hezbollah's war with Israel last year. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has shrugged off the opposition demands and announced an economic reform plan before Thursday's conference in Paris, where foreign donors are expected to pledge billions of dollars for Lebanon's debt-laden economy. Most main roads in Beirut were shut, as were highways to the north and south, and to the Syrian capital Damascus. Many shops, schools and businesses were closed in Beirut but it was hard to tell whether this was in support of the strike or because people could not get to work past blazing barricades. Pro-government figures condemned the protests.

ITN Source | January 23, 2007

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