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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Seven killed in Beirut violence | Seven killed in Beirut violence |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Seven people have been killed in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after a demonstration against power cuts descended into violence. | Seven people have been killed in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after a demonstration against power cuts descended into violence. |
| Shots were fired as the army intervened when protesters tried to block a road. | Shots were fired as the army intervened when protesters tried to block a road. |
| An activist from the opposition Shia Amal movement was killed, triggering violent protests in which six more people were killed, reports say. | An activist from the opposition Shia Amal movement was killed, triggering violent protests in which six more people were killed, reports say. |
| Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora spoke of "most difficult and dangerous times" and declared Monday a day of mourning. | Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora spoke of "most difficult and dangerous times" and declared Monday a day of mourning. |
| Meanwhile, Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo called for army chief Michel Suleiman to be elected president, at the head of a national unity government. | |
| A political deadlock has left Lebanon without a president since November. The Arab League ministers rejected a Syrian proposal for more pro-Syrian representation in Lebanon's cabinet. | |
| "What is needed is a consensus solution," said Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, "not the opinion of this or that." | |
| Violence spreads | Violence spreads |
| As fighting spread in Beirut, sporadic gunfire was heard and the airport road was temporarily blocked by tyres. | As fighting spread in Beirut, sporadic gunfire was heard and the airport road was temporarily blocked by tyres. |
| A security official said gunmen had opened fire on troops as they tried to break up the demonstration. | A security official said gunmen had opened fire on troops as they tried to break up the demonstration. |
| He said the soldiers had then fired warning shots to disperse the protestors. | He said the soldiers had then fired warning shots to disperse the protestors. |
| But crowds of angry opposition supporters took to the streets around the capital, and in Shia parts of southern Lebanon, as news of the shooting spread. | But crowds of angry opposition supporters took to the streets around the capital, and in Shia parts of southern Lebanon, as news of the shooting spread. |
| What we have built during the past years is in danger of crumbling Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora | What we have built during the past years is in danger of crumbling Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora |
| Sunday's demonstration in southern Beirut's Mar Makhaeil suburb had been against chronic electricity cuts in predominantly Shia areas of the capital. | Sunday's demonstration in southern Beirut's Mar Makhaeil suburb had been against chronic electricity cuts in predominantly Shia areas of the capital. |
| Amal released a statement saying the dead activist had not been involved in the protests, and it remains unclear who was responsible for his death. | Amal released a statement saying the dead activist had not been involved in the protests, and it remains unclear who was responsible for his death. |
| Sniper fears | Sniper fears |
| The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says there are concerns that snipers with unclear affiliations had fired shots from nearby buildings in an attempt to stir up trouble. | The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says there are concerns that snipers with unclear affiliations had fired shots from nearby buildings in an attempt to stir up trouble. |
| Amal is part of an opposition alliance, led by the Shia militant group Hezbollah, that has been locked in a power struggle for more than a year with the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Siniora. | Amal is part of an opposition alliance, led by the Shia militant group Hezbollah, that has been locked in a power struggle for more than a year with the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Siniora. |
| Mr Siniora's supporters have accused Amal and Hezbollah of exploiting social and economic issues for political ends. Both parties have denied doing so. | Mr Siniora's supporters have accused Amal and Hezbollah of exploiting social and economic issues for political ends. Both parties have denied doing so. |
| They urged their supporters to leave the streets as army reinforcements were deployed later on Sunday. | They urged their supporters to leave the streets as army reinforcements were deployed later on Sunday. |
| Cars were torched as protests spread around Beirut | Cars were torched as protests spread around Beirut |
| But bursts of gunfire continued into the night around the scene of the first shooting in Mar Makhaeil. | But bursts of gunfire continued into the night around the scene of the first shooting in Mar Makhaeil. |
| And in the nearby suburb of Ain Roummaneh, the site of a massacre that had triggered Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, a hand grenade wounded seven people and cars were set ablaze, security sources said. | And in the nearby suburb of Ain Roummaneh, the site of a massacre that had triggered Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, a hand grenade wounded seven people and cars were set ablaze, security sources said. |
| Acute instability | Acute instability |
| Mr Siniora urged calm and declared Monday a day of mourning. Schools and universities were to be closed. | Mr Siniora urged calm and declared Monday a day of mourning. Schools and universities were to be closed. |
| "In these moments, our country is passing through its most difficult and dangerous times," he said. | "In these moments, our country is passing through its most difficult and dangerous times," he said. |
| "What we have built during the past years is in danger of crumbling." | "What we have built during the past years is in danger of crumbling." |
| Sunday's violence was Beirut's worst since street clashes a year ago between gangs of pro-government and pro-opposition supporters. | Sunday's violence was Beirut's worst since street clashes a year ago between gangs of pro-government and pro-opposition supporters. |
| It followed a massive bomb blast on Friday which killed a senior Lebanese intelligence officer and three others in the east of the capital. | It followed a massive bomb blast on Friday which killed a senior Lebanese intelligence officer and three others in the east of the capital. |
| The latest deaths come at a time of acute political instability in Lebanon as deadlock between pro-Syrian and pro-Western parties drags on. | The latest deaths come at a time of acute political instability in Lebanon as deadlock between pro-Syrian and pro-Western parties drags on. |
| Syrian plan rejected | |
| Participants at Cairo's Arab League meeting on Sunday rejected Syria's demand that Hezbollah and its allies have greater representation in Lebanon's Cabinet. | |
| Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem had pushed for a new formula for Lebanese politics in which the pro-Syrian opposition would have 10 cabinet ministers, or one third of the seats. | Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem had pushed for a new formula for Lebanese politics in which the pro-Syrian opposition would have 10 cabinet ministers, or one third of the seats. |
| Such a system would have given the Hezbollah-led opposition effective veto power, and the proposal was turned down by the ministers, AP reported. | Such a system would have given the Hezbollah-led opposition effective veto power, and the proposal was turned down by the ministers, AP reported. |
| Instead, the Arab League mandated Secretary-General Amr Moussa to push ahead with efforts to help rival parties reach an agreement on the make-up of a national unity cabinet. | Instead, the Arab League mandated Secretary-General Amr Moussa to push ahead with efforts to help rival parties reach an agreement on the make-up of a national unity cabinet. |