Protesters trying to topple Lebanon's cabinet blocked highways today, sparking clashes with government loyalists in which two people were killed and at least 100 people hurt.
The violence raised the stakes in a campaign by Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hizbullah and its Shia and Christian allies to oust Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Western-supported government and hold early parliamentary elections.
Smoke from burning tyres rises over the Al-Amin mosque at the start of a general strike called by the opposition in Beirut January 23, 2007.
Lebanese troops tried to keep rival groups apart, but police said a member of the Christian pro-government Lebanese Forces party was shot dead in the town of Batroun, north of Beirut. Another person was shot and killed in the mainly Sunni Muslim northern port of Tripoli.
Mr Siniora has rejected opposition demands. Instead he has announced an economic reform plan to be presented on Thursday to an aid conference in Paris, where foreign donors are expected to pledge money to help Lebanon's debt-laden economy.
The opposition campaign has raised tension between Sunnis and Shias in Lebanon, still recovering from a civil war. The government is backed by anti-Syrian Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri. Its opponents include Hizbullah and Amal, both Shia groups. Christians are split between the two camps.
Police said altogether more than 100 people were hurt in a day of skirmishes around the country. Police said gunfire wounded 35 people, many of them in the Christian towns of Byblos and Halba.
Stone-throwing crowds fought in Beirut and Christian areas to the north, even though troops caught in the middle fired in the air to deter them.
Black smoke billowed over Beirut as demonstrators shut main roads, including those to the port and international airport, to enforce a general strike called by Hizbullah and its allies. Several airlines cancelled flights. About 300 passengers were stranded at the airport because nearby roads were closed.
The army, which has been guarding government offices in central Beirut since the opposition began protesting there on December 1st, has few extra troops to deploy. It is already stretched after moving thousands of men to south Lebanon and the Syrian border following Hizbullah's war with Israel last year.