Hezbollah withdraws from Beirut

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah yesterday said it was withdrawing its gunmen from Beirut neighborhoods seized in sectarian clashes after the army ordered its troops to establish security and called on fighters to clear the streets.

But while tensions in the capital appeared to be defusing, violence spread to other parts of the country.

At least 12 people were killed and 20 wounded when pro- and anti-government groups fought in a remote region of northern Lebanon, Lebanese security and hospital officials said.

It was the heaviest toll for a single clash since sectarian fighting began Wednesday. At least 37 people have been killed in four days of clashes.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies seized large swaths of Muslim west Beirut on Friday, demonstrating their military might in a power struggle with the U.S.-backed government. It was the worst sectarian violence since Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.

The clashes broke out after the government challenged Hezbollah by declaring its private telephone network illegal and saying it would remove the chief of airport security for suspected ties to Shi’ite militant group.

Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said the decisions amounted to a declaration of war and he demanded they be revoked. His Shi’ite forces then overran Beirut neighborhoods, routing Sunni supporters of the government.

Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, in his first public statement since the sectarian violence erupted, said Lebanon can no longer tolerate Hezbollah having weapons. He called on the army to restore law and order and remove gunmen from the streets. He also accused Hezbollah of staging a coup and besieging the capital.

The dream of democracy in Lebanon has been dealt a “poisonous stab by the armed coup carried out by Hezbollah and its allies,” he said.

After Mr. Siniora’s speech, the army called for gunmen to withdraw from the streets of Beirut and reopen blocked roads. It ordered army units “to continue to take measures on the ground to establish security and spread state authority and arrest the violators.”

Mr. Siniora said he would leave it up to the army to resolve the fight over the airport security chief and the Hezbollah telephone network.

The army offered Hezbollah a compromise, saying the airport security chief would not be fired and recommending the government revoke its decision to declare the communications network illegal.

The army has largely stayed out of the fighting, fearing its forces could break apart on sectarian lines as they did during the civil war. The army command is respected by Hezbollah.

An opposition statement said its forces will withdraw their gunmen from Beirut in compliance with the army request.

But it said a “civil disobedience” campaign will continue until its demands are met. The statement did not say whether Hezbollah forces would remove roadblocks around Beirut including one cutting off access to the airport since Wednesday.