Violent clashes in Lebanon between the army and protesters highlight the country's severe economic crisis and renew memories of urban warfare. Mohalhel Fakih reports from Beirut Five people died and dozens were injured during Thursday's labour strikes and protests in Beirut. At first, the casualties were said to have been caused by political infighting ahead of presidential elections in November. Hizbullah then blamed the United States Embassy for orchestrating the violence. The political identity of the perpetrators of the urban riots in the mainly Muslim Shia southern suburbs of Beirut may never be known, but one thing is certain: a serious socio-economic crisis is simmering. Lebanon's president, prime minister and government ministers said at a special cabinet session on Monday that investigations into the unrest are underway. They decided to kick start dialogue with syndicates and industrial unions, while paying 50 million Lebanese lira -- some $33,000 -- to the families of the protesters who were killed during the rioting. "There was a plan that went bust. It was aimed at bringing down the government [of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri], but something somewhere went bust -- maybe someone intervened to cause a clash between the army and Hizbullah," Naseer Al-Asaad, a prominent analyst and political writer in the Hariri-owned Al-Mustaqbal daily told Al- Ahram Weekly. The paper on Friday claimed there was a "plot" to oust Hariri under the pressure of labour demonstrations, against the backdrop of mounting political tension between senior leaders over the possibility of extending President Emile Lahoud's mandate. Lebanese Army soldiers opened fire on stone- throwing protesters in an impoverished neighborhood in the Hizbullah-dominated suburb of Hay El-Selloum, killing four protesters. The fifth victim was a civil defence worker. More than 50 army troops were also injured in street fighting that sent shockwaves across the country, bringing back memories of the bloody years of all-out urban warfare between 1975 and 1990. The background, ostensibly, was widespread peaceful protests across Lebanon on Thursday in response to a call by the country's trade union confederation, CGTL, to voice grievances over soaring fuel prices and the economic policies of Hariri's government. But in what observers and officials have dubbed a "mystery", some angry Muslim Shia faced off with army troops in the small district of Hay El-Selloum, away from the main protest in central Beirut. Youths tried to block key roads, setting tyres on fire. They pelted troops with stones, drawing live gunfire in return -- a reaction which Amnesty International described as an "excessive use of force". The human rights watchdog has demanded an inquiry into the events, but so far it remains unclear why soldiers headed to the narrow alleyways of Hay El- Selloum on that day. Meanwhile, Hizbullah condemned the army's use of live gunfire but warned against attacking the armed forces, which are known for their support of the Shia party. Former army commander and current president, General Emile Lahoud, is among the staunchest backers of the group. "Thursday's clashes targetted the southern suburb, the Lebanese Army, and Hizbullah," Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah told reporters on Saturday in Beirut's southern suburb, an area under the control of Hizbullah despite the presence of Lebanese Army forces. Violence in the heavily guarded enclaves triggered speculation that the Shia group -- which scored resounding victories in recent municipal and mayoral elections across the country and has been gaining clout both in terms of its political and religious militancy -- was behind the unrest. For their part, Hizbullah blame the Americans. "After the shooting in the Hay El-Selloum area, groups linked to the [US] Embassy worked to spread chaos and violence in other areas of the southern suburb," Nasrallah said, adding that Hizbullah handed to the authorities the names of ex- security guards at the US Embassy who recently moved to the neighbourhood to set up a coffee house. Meanwhile, authorities brought 131 people in for interrogation about the violence. Another seven were arrested for setting fire to the Labour Ministry, located in the southern suburb. It was not clear whether the ex-embassy security guards were among those detained. Nasrallah appeared also to hint at involvement by the CGTL after some unionists urged the crowds to protest and block key roads. Subsequently he froze Hizbullah's membership in the union, which also includes Shias from the rival Amal Movement. The Amal Movement, which suffered heavy electoral losses in local polls at the hands of Hizbullah, is led by House speaker Nabih Berri. Druze leader and Progressive Socialist Party Chief Walid Jumblatt said that the riots showed that "magic had turned against the magician", in an apparent hint at a local "plot" to unseat Hariri, whose economic policies have been at the centre of a bitter dispute with the head of state. Lebanon has been grappling with a public debt of $34 billion -- 185 per cent of the country's GDP. Hizbullah's leader held a rare meeting with Hariri on Sunday night. A statement issued by the Shia party said they discussed the need to "seriously" tackle socio-economic hardships. The debate over the rioting took on another dimension during the weekend. "There is a regional angle in the framework of settling scores for the US after besieging Syria," in reference to the White House's recent endorsement of sanctions under the Syria Accountability Act. The US has in part justified the imposition of sanctions by pointing to Syria's backing of Hizbullah. Syria was reportedly disturbed by the bloody protests in Hay El-Selloum. The pro-Syrian As- Safir newspaper said Damascus views violence, especially against the Lebanese Army, as a "red line". The violence could, after all, severely damage the image of Syria's top allies in Lebanon, Hizbullah included. "The events have caused major damage to Hizbullah. They stood accused of harbouring chaos in a region that looked lawless," Naseer Al-Asaad told the Weekly. This could only aid the American cause, he added. Others, however, rejected such interpretations. "The [authorities] are engaged in the ugliest distortion of reality," Nabil Bou Monsef wrote in the daily An-Nahar, accusing officials of seeking to downplay the serious financial difficulties that the Lebanese have been facing. He rejected what he described as "myths" of a regional conspiracy.
