Lebanon seizes Hezbollah weapons

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The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has said a lorry intercepted by the authorities was transporting weapons for its fighters.

Hezbollah has demanded the return of the lorry and the arms.

Lebanese government officials said that a vehicle had been stopped in Beirut after travelling from the Bekaa Valley, in the east of the country.

They said the lorry had been taken away for further examination and are refusing to return it.

The discovery of the weapons comes amid a political crisis in Lebanon that has raised fears of a return to civil war.

Opposition

An opposition alliance led by Hezbollah has vowed to bring down the government, and has demanded the formation of a new cabinet in which it has the power of veto.

I would have liked for Hezbollah to donate its weapons to the Lebanese army which last night managed to repel Israeli aggression against Lebanese territory Elias MurrLebanese defence minister

The Western-backed government has rejected the demand.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in the summer of 2006, during which more than 1,000 Lebanese were killed, mostly civilians.

A UN peacekeeping force is now helping maintain the cessation of hostilities on the border.

But on Wednesday, in the first such incident in decades, the Lebanese army and the Israelis exchanged fire.

'Rockets and launchers'

Lebanese Defence Minister Elias Murr is refusing to hand over the seized weapons to Hezbollah.

He said the arms should instead be given to the under-equipped army which had just confronted the Israeli army in south Lebanon.

Unconfirmed reports said the lorry contained rockets and rocket launchers concealed under a stack of hay.

According to Lebanese officials, the vehicle came from within the country and did not cross into Lebanon from neighbouring Syria. Damascus as well as Iran supports Hezbollah.

In a statement, Hezbollah called on the government to respect a policy statement adopted two years ago that describes the group as a resistance movement against Israeli occupation.

But under UN resolution 1701, which ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel last summer, the militant group is banned from re-arming.

The resolution has the backing of the Lebanese government.

Hezbollah and the government have been at odds for months and the confiscated weapons are only likely to increase the tension, BBC Beirut correspondent Kim Ghattas says.

The Shia group accuses Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and his allies of doing the bidding of the US and is demanding a new cabinet.

Tensions between the two sides led to violent clashes in January.