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Lebanon students clash; 1 reported dead
By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer
56 minutes ago
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Government and opposition supporters clashed at a
Beirut university campus Thursday, battering each other with sticks,
stones and even furniture in new violence spilling over from Lebanon's
political crisis. One person was reported dead.
Black smoke poured into the sky from cars engulfed in flames as
armored vehicles full of troops moved in to try to keep the two sides
apart. But the riot spread through the streets around Beirut Arab
University, as students smashed parked cars in a battle that raged for
hours.
The violence began with an argument between pro-government Sunni
Muslims and supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah opposition movement in
the university cafeteria, students said.
As the melee grew, Hezbollah supporters called in help, and residents
from the surrounding Sunni neighborhood joined in. Dozens of
vigilantes wearing blue and red construction hats and carrying
makeshift weapons _ chair legs, pipes, garden tools, sticks and chains
_ converged on the university and clashed with the police.
The army was called in with armored vehicles, firing tear gas and live
rounds in the air to try to disperse the crowd.
Hezbollah's al-Manar TV reported one of the Shiite group's supporters
was killed. Security officials could not confirm the death but
reported 17 people wounded. Other TV stations reported that about 25
people were hurt.
The street fighting illustrated the challenge Lebanon faces, caught in
a power struggle between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the
U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. Many fear the
violence could spiral out of control and even plunge the country into
a new civil war.
The university melee came two days after a general strike called by
the opposition turned into the worst day of violence since the
political crisis began. The strike sparked opposition-government
clashes around the country that killed three people and took on a
dangerous sectarian tone, with fights between Sunni Muslims and
Shiites.
Saniora on Thursday was in Paris at a conference of donor nations that
promised more than $7 billion in aid to rebuild Lebanon after this
summer's devastating Hezbollah- Israel war.
The trouble at the university _ located in the mainly Sunni Muslim
neighborhood of Tarik el-Jadideh _ began with the argument in a
cafeteria, students said. They said university security broke up the
fight, but the Sunni supporters encircled the campus.
During the brawl, some students claimed they came under sniper fire.
Mohammed Abdul-Sater, a 21-year-old Shiite student, said he saw at
least three people wounded by gunfire.
"We are afraid about the future of the country," he said. "We are
afraid about civil war."
As the battle spilled into the streets, people from outside the
university joined in. Young men carrying sticks and wearing hard hats
arrived and pelted each other with stones. Some flung pieces of
furniture. Soldiers fired volleys of automatic rifle fire into the
air, and residents of the area fled.
Seeking to prevent the trouble from spreading, Hezbollah's leadership
issued a statement on al-Manar TV accusing pro-government factions of
provoking the clashes and calling on its supporters to get off the
streets to "avoid strife being inflamed" by government supporters.
Saad Hariri, leader of the parliamentary majority and the leading
Sunni opponent of Hezbollah, also urged his supporters to exercise
restraint.
The opposition has staged two months of demonstrations and sit-ins in
a bid to topple Saniora's government. The prime minister has refused
the opposition's demand for veto-wielding share of the Cabinet.
Lebanon fought a 15-year civil war between its Christian and Muslim
communities, ending in 1990. The current political crisis has divided
the country along different lines _ with Sunnis largely backing
Saniora, Shiites behind Hezbollah, and Christians divided between the
two camps.
--
Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not
on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away
with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone
are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices
me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS
"There are no absolute certainties in this universe. A man must try to
whip order into a yelping pack of probabilities, and uniform success is
impossible." -- Jack Vance
"Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net
By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer
56 minutes ago
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Government and opposition supporters clashed at a
Beirut university campus Thursday, battering each other with sticks,
stones and even furniture in new violence spilling over from Lebanon's
political crisis. One person was reported dead.
Black smoke poured into the sky from cars engulfed in flames as
armored vehicles full of troops moved in to try to keep the two sides
apart. But the riot spread through the streets around Beirut Arab
University, as students smashed parked cars in a battle that raged for
hours.
The violence began with an argument between pro-government Sunni
Muslims and supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah opposition movement in
the university cafeteria, students said.
As the melee grew, Hezbollah supporters called in help, and residents
from the surrounding Sunni neighborhood joined in. Dozens of
vigilantes wearing blue and red construction hats and carrying
makeshift weapons _ chair legs, pipes, garden tools, sticks and chains
_ converged on the university and clashed with the police.
The army was called in with armored vehicles, firing tear gas and live
rounds in the air to try to disperse the crowd.
Hezbollah's al-Manar TV reported one of the Shiite group's supporters
was killed. Security officials could not confirm the death but
reported 17 people wounded. Other TV stations reported that about 25
people were hurt.
The street fighting illustrated the challenge Lebanon faces, caught in
a power struggle between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the
U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. Many fear the
violence could spiral out of control and even plunge the country into
a new civil war.
The university melee came two days after a general strike called by
the opposition turned into the worst day of violence since the
political crisis began. The strike sparked opposition-government
clashes around the country that killed three people and took on a
dangerous sectarian tone, with fights between Sunni Muslims and
Shiites.
Saniora on Thursday was in Paris at a conference of donor nations that
promised more than $7 billion in aid to rebuild Lebanon after this
summer's devastating Hezbollah- Israel war.
The trouble at the university _ located in the mainly Sunni Muslim
neighborhood of Tarik el-Jadideh _ began with the argument in a
cafeteria, students said. They said university security broke up the
fight, but the Sunni supporters encircled the campus.
During the brawl, some students claimed they came under sniper fire.
Mohammed Abdul-Sater, a 21-year-old Shiite student, said he saw at
least three people wounded by gunfire.
"We are afraid about the future of the country," he said. "We are
afraid about civil war."
As the battle spilled into the streets, people from outside the
university joined in. Young men carrying sticks and wearing hard hats
arrived and pelted each other with stones. Some flung pieces of
furniture. Soldiers fired volleys of automatic rifle fire into the
air, and residents of the area fled.
Seeking to prevent the trouble from spreading, Hezbollah's leadership
issued a statement on al-Manar TV accusing pro-government factions of
provoking the clashes and calling on its supporters to get off the
streets to "avoid strife being inflamed" by government supporters.
Saad Hariri, leader of the parliamentary majority and the leading
Sunni opponent of Hezbollah, also urged his supporters to exercise
restraint.
The opposition has staged two months of demonstrations and sit-ins in
a bid to topple Saniora's government. The prime minister has refused
the opposition's demand for veto-wielding share of the Cabinet.
Lebanon fought a 15-year civil war between its Christian and Muslim
communities, ending in 1990. The current political crisis has divided
the country along different lines _ with Sunnis largely backing
Saniora, Shiites behind Hezbollah, and Christians divided between the
two camps.
--
Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not
on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away
with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone
are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices
me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS
"There are no absolute certainties in this universe. A man must try to
whip order into a yelping pack of probabilities, and uniform success is
impossible." -- Jack Vance
"Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMverizon.net
