Uneasy calm prevails in Beirut after riots

Dubai: An uneasy calm prevailed in Beirut on Monday, a day after Lebanon suffered one of its worst bouts of street violence since the civil war 18 years ago.

The Lebanese army was on high alert after Sunday's riots left at least seven people dead in the southern suburb and politicians and analysts voiced fears of more unrest.

Politicians of various parties said they will not allow things to get out of control unless a surprising development takes place.

"Everybody fears a civil war ... Nobody wants it," said columnist George Nassef. There is a lot of anger simmering beneath the veneer of calm, he added.

"The danger is that any unexpected development might blow up the whole situation," he told Gulf News from Beirut.

The Shiite groups of Amal and Hezbollah buried their dead yesterday in separate ceremonies in Beirut and southern Lebanon to avoid a mass funeral that would have raised tensions. Reports said mourners blamed the government and the army for the unrest.

"Amal and Hezbollah have exerted efforts to contain the situation and will not allow it to spin out of control," Hussain Rahal, Hezbollah's media relations official, told Gulf News.

Hezbollah earlier called for an inquiry into the deaths when troops open-ed fire on demonstrators protesting against power cuts on Sunday.

"Were the army's bullets behind the deaths of martyrs and injuries to others? If so, who issued the order for the soldiers to fire?" Hezbollah asked in a statement.

While Hezbollah held the authorities responsible for "every drop of blood spilt", Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for a day of mourning. As a result, schools and universities were closed.

"This is an hour of sadness. Our country is passing through the most dangerous times," he added.

In Cairo, Arab foreign ministers met on Sunday to discuss ways to reach an agreement between the squabbling politicians to fill the presidency left vacant since November 23.

"The base of the Arab position is that the majority (in Lebanon) would not be autocratic, and the minority should not have the veto power ... the details were left for the Lebanese politicians to arrive at an agreement," said Nassef, referring to the Cairo meeting.