BEIRUT:The usually bustling streets of Beirut were almost deserted but tense on Wednesday as tire-burning protesters blocked roads for a general strike in which economic and political woes collided. Soldiers, many dressed in riot gear, were deployed in force throughout the Lebanese capital where protesters burned tires and overturned garbage bins in the streets barring traffic from passing through. The road to the airport was blocked impeding travellers from making their flights. Three army tanks and several army vehicles stood in between supporters of rival camps along the Corniche al-Mazraa thoroughfare, as groups of youths from the ruling bloc. Protesters from the Hezbollah and Amal, clashed with supporters of Lebanon's government. Wednesday as a strike paralyzed large parts of Beirut. Explosions and gunfire rang out across Lebanon's capital. The cause of the explosions was not immediately known and there was no word on casualties.The clashes began when government and opposition supporters in a Muslim sector of Beirut exchanged insults and began throwing stones at each other. Witnesses said security forces intervened. A cameraman for Hezbollah's al-Manar television was beaten by a soldier, the station reported. The state-run National News Agency reported that he was struck in the forehead during the clash. Bystanders wrapped a shirt on his head to stop the bleeding before he left on his motorcycle.
At least 10 people, including two soldiers, were injured on Wednesday after a General Labor Confederation (GLC) strike which was meant to protest the government's economic policies turned violent, leading to the blocking of roads and armed clashes in several parts of Beirut. One of the roads blocked by protesters was the main artery to the capital's international airport, causing dozens of flights to be delayed or cancelled. Three arrivals came in in the early afternoon, but a statement from the national carrier, Middle East Airlines, announced that all departures between midnight Wednesday and noon Thursday had been scrubbed. About 200 passengers were stranded at the airport by early evening, an aviation source told AFP. Some arriving travelers could be seen walking outside the airport, past burning tires and mounds of earth, as they tried to make their way home. Security sources told The Daily Star that in addition to the berms, opposition supporters have started setting up tents in the vicinity of the airport in a bid to stage an open sit-in similar to the one in place in Downtown Beirut since December 2006. The 10 people were injured during clashes between Hizbullah and Amal supporters and pro-government Future Movement supporters in the Beirut areas of Corniche al-Mazraa, Ras al-Nabeh, Wata al-Mosseitbeh, Cola, and others. The security sources also said that a Future Movement office in the Ras al-Nabeh neighborhood was hit by several rocket-propelled grenades. Three Future supporters were injured as a result of the attack. However, Hizbullah's Al-Manar television accused militants affiliated with the Future Movement of hiding in the office and opening fire on demonstrators, adding that army soldiers broke into the office and arrested the militants.
A soldier was hit in the mouth by a stone and two other news photographers also were hurt by stones, according to witnesses and television reports. Earlier in the same area, a stun grenade thrown into a crowd lightly injured three protesters and two soldiers, the state news agency reported. It was not immediately clear who threw the grenade. The clashes spread to several mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods, with Sunnis backing the government and Shiites supporting the opposition. Armed civilians appeared on some streets.Troop reinforcements raced in armored carriers from one neighborhood to another to contain the disturbances. Around the city, protesters blocked roads with burning tires, dirt, old cars and garbage cans to protest against government economic policies and demand pay raises.
An opposition source said the protest campaign, including road blocks, would be extended until the government rescinded decisions taken on Tuesday affecting Hezbollah. A well-informed opposition source told The Daily Star on Thursday that the opposition would not stop its protest action unless the Western-backed government reversed its decisions. "Our movement will not stop and will change to become civil disobedience until our demands are met," the source added. "After rejecting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's call for dialogue, the government made a number of provocative decisions. Our movement is the result of these decisions." After an Amal Movement meeting that was headed by Berri later on Wednesday, the party held the Lebanese government responsible for the current escalation. Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, is due to hold a new conference on Thursday to react to the government's recent decisions. Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Fatfat told The Daily Star that the Lebanese Army and security forces would not hesitate to open the airport road in a timely manner. "Hizbullah's actions are an open attack against the state," he said. "What Hizbullah is doing reminds the Lebanese people of what Israel did to the airport in the summer 2006 war," he added, referring to the Jewish state's bombing of runways and fuel tanks. Meanwhile, Sunni Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani lashed out at Hizbullah. "We thought that Hizbullah was dedicated to fighting Israel, but we were surprised to see Hizbullah change to an armed force that is trying to occupy Beirut," he said. "Hizbullah is kidnapping the airport to blackmail the Lebanese government in a bid to force it to accept the setting up of cameras to monitor the airport and the establishment of a private phone network for Hizbullah." Qabbani also said that Lebanon's Sunni community was fed up with Hizbullah's actions. He also lashed out at Iran for its financing of what he called "Hizbullah's violations." Also on Wednesday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused Hizbullah of being a "Mehdi Army" in the streets on Beirut, referring to Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia, which has recently come under heavy attack by US and Iraqi forces. He also accused Hizbullah of wanting to control the airport. "Hizbullah is telling the Lebanese government: 'If the airport is not under our control, there will be no airport at all," he said. Geagea also said after meeting Prime Minister Fouad Siniora later on Wednesday that the Lebanese government was capable of unblocking the roads leading to the airport. "They think that we cannot reopen the roads. I assure them that we are capable of doing that," he said. In an interview with Future Television, Siniora said Hizbullah's actions were "worse than what Israel did during the 1982 invasion" because the resistance is not a foreign force.
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The protests and labor strike paralyzed Beirut's airport. Employees stopped working for six hours and flights were delayed or canceled while opposition protesters blocked roads to the country's only air facility. Flights later resumed.
Lebanon's political crisis took a turn for the worse this week when the government's Cabinet on Tuesday said it would remove Beirut airport's security chief over alleged ties to Hezbollah.
The government also declared that a telecommunications network used by Hezbollah for military purposes was illegal and a danger to state security.
Hezbollah and Shiite leaders rejected the government's decisions, raising tensions ahead of the planned labor strike.
The political crisis has exacerbated the country's economic problems. Rising oil prices and a weakening U.S. dollar, the favored currency here, have driven up the cost of living.
Just as the country is divided politically into opposition and pro-government camps, the unions were split as well on whether to support the strike. In Shiite sectors of the city where Hezbollah support is high, the strike was widely observed, with most businesses closed and streets empty.
In areas where government support is strong, some businesses were open but many people stayed off the streets and traffic was lighter than usual amid a heavy army presence.
Passengers leave Beirut's international airport on foot, after the main road leading to the airport was blocked by Hezbollah supporters May 7, 2008. Demonstrators blocked several roads in and around Beirut with burning tyres on Wednesday when large parts of Lebanon observed a strike to protest against the government's economic and social policies, witnesses said. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)
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Passengers wait to leave Beirut's international airport, after the main road leading to the airport was blocked by Hezbollah supporters May 7, 2008. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
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gunmen patrol during gun battles in a street in Beirut May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's U.S. - ] opposition, escalating the country's worst internal crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. REUTERS/ Issam Kobeisy (LEBANON)
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A Gunman fires during clashes in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah supporters clashed with government backers in several Beirut neighborhoods Wednesday, using guns and stones after the militant group blocked major roads with burning tires and dirt to enforce a labor strike. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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A gunman walks past burning cars during clashes in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah supporters clashed with government backers in several Beirut neighborhoods Wednesday, using guns and stones after the militant group blocked major roads with burning tires and dirt to enforce a labor strike. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Opposition activists burn tires during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between the militant group and Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Lebanese soldiers stand by burning tires during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between the militant group and Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Lebanese army vehicles stop at barricades set up by Hezbollah supporters on the main road leading to Beirut's International airport May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralyzing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. (Sharif Karim - LEBANON/Reuters)
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A Lebanese soldier bleeds after being hit in the mouth by a stone during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah supporters clashed with government backers in several Beirut neighborhoods Wednesday, using guns and stones after the militant group blocked major roads with burning tires and dirt to enforce a labor strike. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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ebanese soldiers patrol a street in front of a poster of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora during a protest called by labor unions in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked roads with burning tires and paralyzed the airport in the capital Beirut Wednesday to enforce a strike against the Western-backed government. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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A Lebanese soldier sits on his armored vehicle near burning tires during a protest called by labor unions in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked roads with burning tires and paralyzed the airport in the capital Beirut Wednesday to enforce a strike against the Western-backed government. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Hezbollah supporters burn tires as Lebanese soldiers and armoured personnel carriers patrol on a main road in Beirut suburbs May 7, 2008. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
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A Lebanese man holds a bread loaf and a banner where he wrote the rising food prices during a protest called by labor unions in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked roads with burning tires and paralyzed the airport in the capital Beirut Wednesday to enforce a strike against the Western-backed government. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Lebanese soldiers and an armoured personnel carrier patrol a street in Beirut May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)
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Lebanese soldiers on an armoured personnel carrier patrol a street in a Beirut suburb May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. The poster in the background is for Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)
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Riot police secure the Lebanese Central Bank in Beirut May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)
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Lebanese soldiers stand guard, foreground, as opposition activists burn tires during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between the militant Shiite group and Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)
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Lebanese soldiers stand guard near burning tires during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between the militant Shiite group and Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)
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An armoured personnel carrier and riot police secure the Lebanese Central Bank in Beirut May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)
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Lebanese army vehicles stop at barricades set up by Hezbollah supporters on the main road leading to Beirut's International airport May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON)
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Lebanese soldiers patrol the major highway to the international airport during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between the militant group and Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Lebanese soldiers stand by burning tires during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between the militant group and Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Hezbollah supporters burn tyres as Lebanese soldiers and armoured personnel carriers patrol on a main road in Beirut suburbs May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)
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Lebanese soldiers sitting in their personnel armored vehicle drive through burning tires on the highway leading to the International airport during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between the militant group and Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Lebanese soldiers sitting in their personnel armored vehicle drive near burning tires during a protest on the highway leading to the International airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah-led opposition protesters blocked streets in central Beirut and on the road to the international airport Wednesday to enforce an anti-government labor strike that has turned into a showdown between the militant group and Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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A fire fighter tries to extinguish burning cars during clashes between opposition supporters and the Lebanese army in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Hezbollah opposition supporters and government backers exchanged gunfire and threw stones Wednesday as a strike by the Shiite militant group paralyzed large parts of Beirut. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Lebanese riot police and soldiers stand guard during a general strike in Beirut. Protesters blocked roads with blazing tyres in the Lebanese capital and disrupted air traffic during a general strike that escalated into a confrontation between rival political camps.(AFP/Ramzi Haidar)
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A Lebanese protester feeds a fire during a demonstration for wage increases in Beirut. Protesters blocked roads with blazing tyres in the Lebanese capital and disrupted air traffic during a general strike that escalated into a confrontation between rival political camps.(AFP/Joseph Barrak)
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Civil defence personnel put out fires from burning cars during armed clashes in Beirut May 7, 2008. REUTERS/Ezzat Attar
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Lebanese soldiers guard a closed-off street in front of burning tyres during a general strike in Beirut. Protesters blocked roads with blazing tyres in the Lebanese capital and disrupted air traffic during a general strike that escalated into a confrontation between rival political camps.(AFP/Joseph Barrak)
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Hezbollah supporters flash victory signs after setting ablaze barricades on a main road in Beirut suburbs May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital and deepening the pro-Iranian group's conflict with the U.S.-backed government. REUTERS/ Issam Kobeisy
Hezbollah supporters empty sand and stones from a truck to block a main road in a Beirut suburb May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. REUTERS/ Ezzat Attar (LEBANON)
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Hezbollah supporters play football after setting ablaze barricades on the main road to Beirut's International airport May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the city and deepening the pro-Iranian group's conflict with the U.S. -backed government. REUTERS/Ezzat Attar (LEBANON)
Reuters via Yahoo! News - May 07 3:00 AM
Hezbollah supporters empty sand and stones from a truck to block a main road in a Beirut suburb May 7, 2008. Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition blocked main roads in Beirut with burning barricades on Wednesday, paralysing the capital in a long-running political standoff with the U.S.-backed government. REUTERS/ Ezzat Attar (LEBANON)
