Lebanon on the Brink As Violence Erupts

Fighting erupted across Beirut yesterday after Hizbullah accused the Lebanese government of issuing a "declaration of war" by demanding the Shia militia shut down its private communications network.

Beirut's streets echoed to the sound of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades as masked Hizbullah fighters clashed with supporters of the western-backed government, evoking bitter memories of the country's civil war and sharpening fears of a new one.

Sources reported at least 10 dead and 20 wounded, with violence spreading from Beirut to the Beqaa valley. The UN urged restraint, while government coalition leader Saad al-Hariri issued a televised appeal to Hizbullah "to stop the slide towards civil war, to stop the language of arms and lawlessness". Hizbullah officials later rejected the overture, according to the group's al-Manar television.

The trouble erupted earlier just minutes after the Hizbullah leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, charged the government with crossing a "red line" by challenging the independence of the resistance to Israel. As radios crackled, the shooting began, men wearing green webbing and balaclavas firing from street corners as civilians sprinted for cover.

The government called for Hizbullah's secure phone and internet system - fibre-optic cables separate from the Lebanese state network - to be dismantled. It also protested about concealed surveillance cameras found at Beirut airport, and sacked an army general in charge of security who was described as sympathetic to the Iranian-backed group.

Nasrallah warned in a televised news conference that the decision was "tantamount to a declaration of war ... on the resistance and its weapons in the interests of America and Israel".

Hizbullah would "cut off the hands" of anyone who tried to touch its arsenal, Nasrallah pledged. But he also signaled that he preferred to see dialog.

Lebanon's political system has been in gridlock since November when the mandate of the pro-Syrian president expired. The post remains vacant and Syria, which backs Hizbullah and allied opposition forces, is accused of blocking agreement on the presidency.

Hizbullah was supposed to have disarmed under the UN resolution which ended the 2006 war with Israel. Not only has it failed to do that, but it is also reported to have replenished its arsenal.

Analysts have tended to argue that there is no appetite for a return to civil war and little sign that new militias are forming. But most also agree that the situation could easily get out of hand.