AP
May 9, 2008
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Running gun battles raged through parts of Beirut yesterday after the leader of Hezbollah accused Lebanon's Western-backed government of declaring war on his Shiite militant group.
At least four people were killed and eight wounded in the capital.
PHOTO GALLERY: Violence In Lebanon
In a grim reminder of Lebanon's devastating 1975-90 civil war, factions threw up roadblocks and checkpoints dividing Beirut into sectarian enclaves on the second day of clashes between Sunni Muslims loyal to the government and Shiite supporters of Hezbollah.
A top Sunni leader went on television urging Hezbollah to pull its fighters back and "save Lebanon from hell."
The army, which has stayed out of the sectarian political squabbling that has paralyzed the country for more than a year, did not intervene in the battles.
The chattering of automatic weapons and thumps of exploding rocket-propelled grenades echoed across Beirut into the night. People huddled in hallways and stairwells as gunmen rushed from one street corner to the next firing at their foes. Some families fled to neighborhoods that remained quiet.
"There is so much shooting and explosions outside. Our building is in the middle of the fighting," a terrified woman, Ghada Helmi, told The Associated Press by telephone.
Fighting began along Corniche Mazraa, an avenue separating Shiite and Sunni areas, then spread to other districts. Combat was heard near the office of Lebanon's Sunni spiritual leader, an ally of the government, and near the official residence of the opposition-aligned parliament speaker.
The unrest virtually shut down Lebanon's international airport for a second day and barricades closed major high ways.
