Army threatens force to halt fighting

Lebanese troops were set to use force if necessary on Tuesday to disarm gunmen and enforce law and order after six days of deadly sectarian gunbattles that have thrown the nation into fear and chaos.

The military had said that as of 6:00 am (0300 GMT) its troops were ready to resort to force to bring an end to the violence pitting supporters of the Western-backed government against members of the Hezbollah-led opposition.

The fighting, which has left at least 61 people dead and scores more wounded, is the worst sectarian unrest since the 1975-1990 civil war and had stoked fears the country was headed for another all-out conflict.

US President George W. Bush warned Iran and Syria that the international community would not allow Lebanon to fall under foreign domination again and vowed to shore up the Lebanese army.

Fierce battles erupted for about a half hour overnight between Sunnis loyal to the government and pro-Hezbollah Alawites in the northern port city of Tripoli but by early Tuesday troops were reinforcing their presence in affected areas.

Similar violence shook Tripoli on Monday leaving at least one person dead, but no fighting was reported in other areas and in Beirut the situation was calm, schools have reopened and traffic was slowly returning to normal.

However, several main highways remained blocked by Hezbollah-led Shi'ite protests, including the road to the Lebanon's only international airport outside Beirut which is still shut.

"As of 9:00 am (0600 GMT) we have no reports of any incidents in areas where the army has deployed," an army spokesman told newswire AFP.

The An-Nahar newspaper said the army decision followed commitments from both camps to rein in their militants pending the outcome of crisis talks with an Arab League delegation due in Lebanon on Wednesday.

"Today's agenda: The army takes hold of the streets... even by force," declared a headline in the As-Safir newspaper, which is close to the opposition.

Bush, who leaves Washington on Tuesday for a trip to the Middle East, said his administration would help Prime Minister Fuad Siniora by strengthening his armed forces.

"I strongly condemn Hezbollah's recent efforts, and those of their foreign sponsors in Tehran and Damascus, to use violence and intimidation to bend the government and people of Lebanon to their will," Bush said in a statement.

"The international community will not allow the Iranian and Syrian regimes, via their proxies, to return Lebanon to foreign domination and control."

The latest unrest, which dramatically raised the stakes in an 18-month standoff between the ruling majority and the Syrian and Iranian-backed opposition, erupted after a government crackdown against Hezbollah activities which the Shi'ite Muslim militant group said amounted to a declaration of war.

The ensuing sectarian clashes saw Hezbollah gunmen and their allies take over large swathes of majority Sunni areas of mainly Muslim west Beirut, routing pro-government forces.

Hezbollah ended its takeover at the weekend but only after the army reversed the government's decision to probe the group's communication network and to reassign the head of airport security over claims he was close to Hezbollah.

RELATED: Fighting rages in north Lebanon as Beirut siege ends

After foreign ministers held weekend crisis talks in Cairo, an Arab League delegation prepared to visit Beirut on Wednesday in a bid to end the fighting.

RELATED: Lebanon tense as Arab League tries to end crisis

Hezbollah welcomed the Arab League decision but insisted that the delegation must be neutral. "We ask the Arabs not to favour one party over another," Hezbollah deputy chief Hussein Khalil told a news conference.

The ruling majority said in a statement that it was willing to negotiate table but not under the gun.

The international "Friends of Lebanon" group called for an immediate end to the violence and for a long-delayed presidential election to be held with no pre-conditions.

"We call for the immediate cessation of fighting, the withdrawal of gunmen from the streets, the unblocking of roads and the reopening of Beirut International Airport," the group said in a statement issued at the UN.

Lebanon's political standoff, which erupted in November 2006 when six pro-Syrian ministers quit, has left it without a president since November, when Damascus protege Emile Lahoud's term ended.

A parliament vote scheduled for Tuesday to elect a new president was cancelled because of the latest unrest and a new date of June 10 was set.

RELATED: Latest presidential vote scheduled for May 13

READERS' COMMENTS

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM