Protesters blocked roads with burning tires for a second day in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday, but soldiers kept their distance. Both sides seemed eager to avoid the bloodshed that claimed six lives Thursday in a riot over gasoline prices.

Hundreds of demonstrators took over streets in Hay al-Soulom, a low-income suburb, but there was no shooting or stone-throwing. On Thursday, soldiers had fired on the protesters, killing five and wounding more than 30 people in Lebanon's worst civil unrest in more than a decade.

A firefighter also died after being shot while trying to douse burning tires.

On Friday, the Lebanese army staged a show of force to deter troublemakers. Troops and armored vehicles took up positions in the suburb, and elite soldiers guarded the nearby highway to the airport. Demonstrators had blocked the highway with burning tires for most of the day Thursday.

The Lebanese Army Command said in a statement late Friday that the burned tires, barriers and rocks that had blocked roads in Hay al-Soulom and some areas in Beirut's southern suburbs have been removed. "All roads are now fit for traffic as normal," it said.

In eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley region, protesters on Friday blocked the main road to the city of Baalbek, famous for its ancient Roman ruins, with hulks of old cars and metal electricity poles as funerals for three of the dead demonstrators were held in area villages. Motorists had to make detours to get into the city.

Sheik Nabil Amhaz, a Hezbollah cleric and relative of one of the dead, blamed the government for the death of demonstrator Zakaria Amhaz. "Couldn't they use water? Don't they have means other than bullets?" he asked at the funeral in the town of Hermel. "All of Lebanon and all those who have conscience know that this is not acceptable."

A funeral for a fourth victim was held peacefully in Hay al-Soulom Friday.

Two newspapers, An-Nahar and As-Safir, reported that Syria had undertaken consultations with various Lebanese groups on Thursday night to try to prevent further clashes with soldiers. The reports could not be confirmed, but word of Syrian involvement usually carries weight in Lebanon.

Syria stations about 20,000 troops in Lebanon and is the country's power broker. This dominance was among reasons that the United States imposed trade sanctions on Syria earlier this month.

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud visited wounded soldiers and demonstrators in separate hospitals on Friday. In a statement, Lahoud urged all sides to behave responsibly and not to be driven by emotion.

Acknowledging that economic conditions were difficult, Lahoud said that rioting was unacceptable and "increases the present difficulties."

Prime Minister Rafik Hariri issued a statement late Thursday expressing regret and warning that "chaos does not serve anyone."

Hariri cut short a trip to neighboring Syria because of the violence. The riots occurred during a strike called by labor unions to demand lower gasoline prices and in protest against the government's economic policies.

The Hezbollah movement, which tends to dominate Hay al-Soulom and nearby Shiite Muslim districts, condemned the shootings.

In an apparent bid to defuse tension, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah canceled at the last minute a news conference he had called for Friday.