Hezbollah and its allies began withdrawing their gunmen here in the capital on Saturday evening, raising hopes for a political settlement after four days of street battles .
Hezbollah and its allies will end all armed presence in Beirut after the Lebanese army overturned government measures against the group, an opposition statement said on Saturday. "The Lebanese opposition will end all armed presence in Beirut so that the capital will be in the hands of the army," the statement said. - Earlier The Lebanese army overturned on Saturday two government measures against Hezbollah that had triggered the group to take control of Beirut, and the military urged gunmen to withdraw from the streets. The army said in a statement it was keeping the head of the security at Beirut airport in his post and that it would handle Hezbollah's communications network in a way "that would not harm public interest and the security of the resistance". Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said earlier on Saturday that he was putting the two issues to the army for them to decide. They have also requested from the government to cancel these 2 decisions taken.
On Saturday afternoon, after another day of sporadic violence, the army offered to broker a face-saving solution by promising to "investigate" Hezbollah's controversial private telephone network without harming the group's integrity. It also proposed to retain the current chief of airport security, a Hezbollah ally whom the government had tried to fire. That proposal Sunni supporters of majority leader Saad Hariri hold a picture of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as they burn the contents of an office belonging to the Lebanese chapter of Syria 's ruling Arab Baath socialist party during clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Seeking to stop the country's slide toward all-out sectarian strife, the Lebanese army command ordered it troops Saturday to establish security and called on all parties to withdraw their gunmen and reopen roads while offering Hezbollah a compromise settlement. (AP Photo) Sunni supporters of majority leader Saad Hariri burn furniture from Hezbollah offices during clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Seeking to stop the country's slide toward all-out sectarian strife, the Lebanese army command ordered it troops Saturday to establish security and called on all parties to withdraw their gunmen and reopen roads while offering Hezbollah a compromise settlement. (AP Photo) Lebanese pro-government supporters burn documents and furniture after looting an office of the Baath party in the northern city of Tripoli. The Lebanese army says it has frozen measures taken by the government against the Shiite Hezbollah movement, and called for all armed militants to withdraw from the streets.(AFP) Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, looks on, during a press conference at the Government House in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Saniora called on the army Saturday to restore law and order across Lebanon and remove gunmen from the streets, accusing Hezbollah of staging an armed coup. (AP Photo/Ahmad Omar) Journalists hold pictures for slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and copies of his newspapers, during a rally at Hariri's Future TV station studios that was forced to close by Hezbollah guerrillas in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Dozens of journalists accompanied by about 300 people demonstrated in Beirut to protest Hezbollah's closure of the television station of top Sunni leader Saad Hariri saying the move is 'a crime' against the media. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) A youth on a scooter asks for directions from Lebanese soldiers blocking and securing the downtown Hamra area of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Witnesses and police say a Shiite shop owner in Beirut opened fire on a funeral procession in a Sunni neighborhood Saturday, killing two and wounding six, a day after Shiite gunmen swept through the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector. Some 25 people have died in four days of violence. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) A man tries to help fire fighters to extinguish a fire in a shop, set alight in the violence that broke following a shooting at a funeral in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Witnesses and police say a Shiite shop owner opened fire on a funeral procession in the Sunni neighborhood Saturday, killing two and wounding six, a day after Shiite gunmen swept through the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector. Some 25 people have died in four days of violence. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Fire fighters try to extinguish a fire in a shop set alight in the violence that broke, following a shooting at a funeral in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Witnesses and police say a Shiite shop owner opened fire on a funeral procession in the Sunni neighborhood Saturday, killing two and wounding six, a day after Shiite gunmen swept through the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Lebanese soldiers sit on trucks as they move in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Witnesses and police say a Shiite shop owner in Beirut opened fire on a funeral procession in a Sunni neighborhood Saturday, killing two and wounding six, a day after Shiite gunmen swept through the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector. Some 25 people have died in four days of violence. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Burned broadcast video tape cases are seen on the rubble of the Future TV building, seen the following day that anti-government gunmen, attacked and set it on fire in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. The two-storey building that belongs to slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's family was destroyed by the fire, set ablaze by the members, loyal to a pro-Syrian group. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) A man holds the Lebanese flag during a rally where journalists walked toward Saad Hariri's Future TV station that was forced to close by Hezbollah guerrillas in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Dozens of journalists accompanied by about 300 people demonstrated in Beirut to protest Hezbollah's closure of the television station of top Sunni leader Saad Hariri saying the move is 'a crime' against the media. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Lebanese soldiers patrol the streets as unrest continues in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Sunni stronghold of Beirut was seized by Shiite gunmen, killing two and wounding two during a funeral on Saturday, following sectarian clashes reminiscent of Lebanon's bloody 15-year civil war. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky) People react as an ambulance arrives at the site of shooting in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Unknown gunmen opened fire on a funeral procession Saturday in a Sunni neighborhood of Beirut killing two and wounding six, a day after Shiite gunmen swept through the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector, police said. (AP Photo) Lebanese news photographers work during a protest against the forced closure of media institutions on Friday by Hezbollah gunmen and its allies in Beirut May 10, 2008. The Shi'ite movement Hezbollah tightened its control of the Lebanese capital on Saturday in a show of force after it routed gunmen loyal to the western-backed government. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON) Lebanese news journalists chant slogans during a protest against the forced closure of media institutions on Friday by Hezbollah gunmen and its allies in Beirut May 10, 2008. The Shi'ite movement Hezbollah tightened its control of the Lebanese capital on Saturday in a show of force after it routed gunmen loyal to the western-backed government. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON) Lebanese army soldiers secure the Sunni neighborhood of Tarik Jadideh during the funeral prossision of Mohammed Shama'a, who was killed during the last few days clashes, in Beirut, Lebanon Saturday, May 10, 2008. A Shiite shop owner opened fire on a funeral procession Saturday in a Sunni neighborhood of Beirut, killing two and wounding six, a day after Shiite gunmen swept through the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector, police and witnesses said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) AP via Yahoo! News - 47 minutes ago Backdropped by civilians walking, Lebanese soldiers sit atop an armored personnel carrier in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Witnesses and police say a Shiite shop owner in Beirut opened fire on a funeral procession in a Sunni neighborhood Saturday, killing two and wounding six, a day after Shiite gunmen swept through the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector. Some 25 people have died in four days of violence. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) To view pictures of DAY 3 please click Here
