Lebanese army to intervene from today

Lebanon's army said it will use force from today to stop fighting in the country between pro- and anti-government forces that has recalled the 1975-90 civil war.

"Army units will halt violations... in accordance with the law, even if that leads to the use of force," a military statement said yesterday. The order should be implemented from 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) today.

In the northern city of Tripoli, pro-government Sunni Muslim gunmen and militiamen allied to Hizbollah guerrillas fought yesterday in violence that has overturned the balance of power.

The upheaval began when Iran-backed Hizbollah and its allies overran the strongholds of their Sunni political foes in Beirut last week.

Six people were wounded in sporadic gun battles between Sunni fighters in Tripoli's Bab Tebbaneh area and pro-Hizbollah Alawites in neighbouring Jebel Mohsen, security sources said.

Hizbollah and its pro-Syrian allies have swept through Beirut and hills to the east in a series of dramatic victories since May 7, defeating loyalists of the US-backed government before handing their conquests to the Lebanese army, which has stayed out of the fighting so far.

At least 36 people were killed on Sunday in fighting between Hizbollah and its pro-government Druze opponents east of Beirut, bringing the overall toll to 81 dead and about 250 wounded.

Parliament postponed a vote on a new Lebanese President for the 19th time, delaying the session to June 10 from today.

Hizbollah's success has dealt a blow to the ruling Sunni-led coalition and its main patron, the US, which has cast the country as a fragile democracy endangered by the ambitions of Hizbollah and its Iranian and Syrian backers.

"The President, you can bet, is going to be talking about this while he's on his trip," White House spokesman Dana Perino said, referring to US President George W. Bush's visit this week to the Middle East.

Mr Bush is due to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Egypt on Sunday.

The US destroyer Cole passed through the Suez Canal to the eastern Mediterranean on Sunday. The ship deployed off Lebanon in February as a show of support to Mr Siniora's government. Hizbollah and its allies fought the 2005 parliamentary poll in an electoral alliance with the ruling coalition parties, although their agreement later broke down in acrimony.

A precarious calm prevailed in Beirut, where politicians prepared to meet Arab League mediators.

"What has been happening is negotiations by fire," a political source said. "Now everyone is waiting for the Arab committee to come for the political negotiations to start."

Britain and Germany issued statements backing the Arab League mediation and endorsing Siniora's government.

So far such Western and Saudi support has done nothing to deter Hizbollah from exposing the military weakness of its foes, such as Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri and Druze chief Walid Jumblatt, whose mountain fiefdom was attacked on Sunday.

One source said 14 Hizbollah fighters were among the dead in those battles. Hizbollah-led forces overran several posts held by Jumblatt's gunmen in the Aley district east of Beirut before the Druze leader agreed to hand them over to the army.

While Mr Hariri, Mr Jumblatt and their Christian allies have retracted the moves that sparked Hizbollah's ferocious reaction - outlawing its communications network and sacking the airport security chief - they have yet to concede political ground.

For 18 months, the government has resisted opposition demands for veto rights in cabinet, although Hizbollah has now shown it has the military muscle to veto decisions it dislikes.

The political turmoil has paralysed state institutions and left Lebanon without a president since November.