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Clashes in Lebanese capital kindle fears of civil war

A Lebanese soldier beats an anti-government demonstrator Thursday after confrontations erupted between government and opposition supporters around the Beirut Arab University in Lebanon. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Brian Murphy Associated Press
A Lebanese soldier beats an anti-government demonstrator Thursday after confrontations erupted between government and opposition supporters around the Beirut Arab University in Lebanon. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

BEIRUT, Lebanon – University students loyal to Lebanon’s government clashed with Hezbollah supporters Thursday, setting cars ablaze and battling with homemade clubs and stones. The melee deepened worries that Lebanon cannot contain the political and sectarian rivalries threatening to push it toward civil war.

At least three people were killed and dozens were injured before army troops backed by tanks and firing barrages of warning shots into the air dispersed most rioters. The military then declared Beirut’s first curfew since 1996.

But the fallout reaches far beyond the casualty count. The clashes, sparked by a cafeteria scuffle between pro-government Sunni Muslims and pro-Hezbollah Shiites, reinforced fears that Lebanon’s sectarian divisions are erupting into violence as they did during the 1975-90 civil war.

It was the third straight day of violence, sparked by a Hezbollah-led strike Tuesday that came ahead of a crucial gathering of donor nations in Paris. The conference Thursday raised pledges of $7.6 billion to help Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s U.S.-backed government rebuild after last summer’s devastating Israel-Hezbollah war.

The money and show of international support could boost the embattled Saniora. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah has vowed to bring him down unless the opposition is given more power.

The chaos has paralyzed the government. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday that donors were backing the wrong side in the standoff and that he could topple Saniora at any time.

Leaders on all sides called for calm. Nasrallah – who has insisted in recent days he does not want Lebanon to tumble into civil war – went on TV in the evening to tell followers it was a “religious duty” to get off the streets to allow security forces to keep order.

During Lebanon’s civil war, Christians battled Muslims. But the new confrontation has taken different sectarian lines: Shiites support the opposition, Sunnis back the prime minister and Christian parties are divided between the two camps.

If sectarian divisions explode in Lebanon, it would likely further fuel Sunni-Shiite tensions around the Arab world, already heightened by Iraq’s turmoil. Mainly Sunni Arab nations like Egypt and Saudi Arabia have shown alarm at Hezbollah’s increasing strength in Lebanon and have backed Saniora.