In Beirut today, violent clashes between opposing groups of protesters left four people dead and at least 25 injured. Reports state that two students were fatally shot at Beirut Arab University, although some sources put the death toll at four. Both Reuters and al-Jazeera have differing figures for the number of wounded, although it is accepted that some were shot. The fighting continued for three hours, but after this time, most of the rioters moved off. The military has now introduced a night curfew to try to quell further altercations. The student demonstrators started throwing missiles and furniture at each other during the day, as the ongoing power struggle in Lebanon became all the more violent. Lebanese troops tried to dispel the crowds by shooting into the air and evacuating students, however, this effort wasn’t successful. Opposition TV station al-Manar blamed pro-government gunmen for the students’ deaths, while Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the opposition Shia Hizbullah movement, urged his followers to leave the university area. Cars were burned in the street during the disturbances, and there are unconfirmed reports that students were fired upon by snipers. Civilians are now becoming increasingly concerned with the possible emergence of a civil war, particularly after the 170 people who were wounded during Tuesday’s general strike. Hizbullah has been holding demonstrations for two months, in an effort to force Prime Minister Fouad Siniora out of office. Mr Siniora has refused to allow opposition groups to have a veto-wielding share of the cabinet, exacerbating the situation further. The violence on the streets occurred whilst Mr Siniora was attending a conference in Paris where donors promised over $7bn to rebuild the country following last year’s 34-day war between Hizbullah and Israel.
