Lebanon opposition presses anti-government protests
Hezbollah-led opposition supporters continued anti-government protests on Thursday, blocking roads in the Lebanese capital and forcing the country's only international airport to close in a serious escalation of a long-running political crisis.
All eyes were on Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was due to hold a news conference via video link later in the day in response to government measures earlier in the week against his Shiite Muslim militant group.
Army and riot police manned checkpoints throughout the city and blocked several roads while many schools and businesses in the capital remained shut for the second straight day.
Armed men, some hooded or masked, were seen in several areas of Beirut.
Protesters burned tyres and lit fires inside large metal rubbish bins along the airport road, which remained shut by large mounds of earth dumped by Hezbollah supporters on Wednesday when a general strike escalated into violence.
An airport official told AFP that all incoming and outgoing flights had been cancelled until noon (0900 GMT), but it was unclear whether normal traffic would resume after that.
"All flights between midnight and noon were cancelled, and then we will see what happens," said the official, who did not wish to be named.
Armed clashes meanwhile erupted in Saadnayel, near the eastern town of Chtaura, between government loyalists and opposition supporters, a security official told AFP.
Three women were wounded by the gunfire, the official said. One has a bullet wound to the stomach, one was shot in the hand and the third in the foot.
He said government loyalists overnight blocked the road leading from Chtaura to the Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
Dozens of pro-government activists also blocked the main road in the Bekaa leading to the Syrian border with blazing tyres and other obstacles, an AFP correspondent witnessed.
He said the protesters overnight blocked the road just 50 metres (yards) from the Masnaa border crossing, forcing travellers to find alternate routes.
Wednesday's strike over price increases and wage demands quickly degenerated into violence, with armed clashes between supporters of the Western-backed ruling bloc and the opposition wheich is backed by Syria and Iran.
The opposition vowed to keep up the protests until the government cancels decisions taken earlier this week.
On Tuesday the government on Tuesday said it was launching a probe into a private telephone network set up by Hezbollah, and accused the group of setting up surveillance cameras around the airport to monitor the comings and goings of pro-government politicians.
The cabinet also reassigned the head of airport security over allegations that he was close to Hezbollah.
AFP
