Five killed in Lebanon clashes

By Lin Noueihed

BEIRUT (Reuters) - About five people have been killed and many more wounded after soldiers opened fire
in a poor Beirut suburb during protests against soaring fuel prices that have brought Lebanon to a near
standstill.

Riots spread across several parts of the city on Thursday, as people vented their anger at the high cost of
living and the government's economic policies by burning tyres and throwing stones at soldiers trying to
control the crowds.

Protesters set the Labour Ministry on fire. Witnesses said two floors of the building in Beirut's southern
suburbs were badly burned, but firefighters had the blaze under control and no one was injured.

Politicians and labour unionists intervened to try to end the country's bloodiest domestic unrest in about a
decade, which comes as Beirut gears up to host an OPEC summit next week.

Lebanon's Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum told reporters preliminary information showed four men and
a woman were killed in the day's violence, but said the toll might change.

Hospital sources said at least three people died of bullet wounds to the neck, stomach and head. More
casualties arrived at nearby hospitals, some in serious conditions. The army said 13 of its soldiers were
injured.

The first clashes began in the Shi'ite Muslim district of Hay al-Silom as the army open fire on
stone-throwing crowds. Protesters charged military vehicles, damaging several and wounding five soldiers, an
army statement said.

Lebanon's al-Manar Television showed footage of soldiers firing automatic weapons into the air and
protesters carrying away wounded civilians. Plumes of black smoke rose into the sky and ambulances rushed
to the scene.

On the airport road, the main artery to the south, troops fired warning shots after hundreds of people
blocked the road with burning tyres and debris, stranding travellers at the airport, witnesses said.

The army said it managed to reopen the road, but only after seven soldiers were wounded by two hand
grenades lobbed at military vehicles.

PRESIDENT DEMANDS INQUIRY

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud called for an inquiry into the unrest. Lebanon's General Labour
Confederation (GLC), which called the strike, urged an end to the protests and said it was working with
political parties to try to restore calm.

In one part of Beirut, hundreds of workers waved loaves of bread and carried banners.

One said: "The budget deficit is in the stomachs of the rich, not the pockets of the poor."

Factories, schools and some universities and shops across the country closed. Airport staff stopped work
for three hours.

Usually congested Beirut was traffic-free, with taxis off the streets as part of the strike. Unions have
demanded the state put a cap of 15,000 Lebanese pounds on the price of 20 litres (4.4 gallons) of petrol,
which now sells for 25,000.

The cabinet agreed last week to cap petrol prices at 23,000 pounds per 20 litres, but prices at the pump
were unchanged.

Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, spearheading a drive to revitalise an economy choked by a public debt
nearing $32 billion, has ordered an investigation into the delay.

Unions have lambasted efforts to cut spending and up revenues from privatisation and tax, saying they hurt
the poor.