Naharnet Newsdesk - Hizbullah Escalates Strike to Possible Rioting

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Hizbullah Escalates Strike to Possible Rioting
Hizbullah on Monday escalated the opposition's general strike call, urging its followers to take to the streets and block roads by blazing tires to "achieve victory" by toppling Premier Fouad Saniora's majority government.
Hizbullah, in a statement issued by its command in the eastern Bekaa valley, said five key roads would be blocked Tuesday in an apparent effort to interrupt businesses and facilitate the general strike that the opposition has called for.

Cars raising Hizbullah flags and posters of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also toured several villages in south Lebanon blaring from loudspeakers calls to "the most honorable people to take to the streets to achieve victory that has been pledged by the sayyed," witnesses told Naharnet.

"Men, women, the elderly and the children are urged to take to the streets tomorrow," yelled a bearded Hizbullah operative through a loudspeaker as he drove his car across the predominantly Shiite Haret Saida district, near the southern provincial capital of Sidon.

Meanwhile, an unidentified assailant hurled a sound grenade in downtown Sidon, the explosion of which caused no casualties but further escalated the already tense situation in the city, a police officer told Naharnet.

Security sources said pro-Syrian Palestinian guerrillas from Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General command and the Islamic Jihad Movement in the refugee camp of Burj el-Barajneh have brought in thousands of rubber tires that could be used to block key roads surrounding the capital on Tuesday.

The camp and the district of Burj el-Barajneh are part of Beirut's southern suburb, a Hizbullah stronghold that abuts the highway leading to the Rafik Hariri International Airport.

One source told Naharnet the development was "an indication that the opposition would try to block the airport road by blazing rubber tires tomorrow."

He stressed, however, that the army and police have strict orders to prevent any activities that would destabilize the situation.

"They called for a general strike, so let them observe a general strike. If they try to block streets and set up fires that wouldn't be a strike. It will be a riot," added the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, a member of the March 14 majority that backs the Saniora government, said earlier the opposition has realized that its strike would fail due to the rejection of the move by the majority of the Lebanese.

However, he said that it was specifically because they realize that the strike is going to fail they would intimidate the Lebanese and block roads to prevent them from moving freely.

Geagea said that in addition to setting rubber tires on fire to block streets, opposition factions were planning to spread nails and litter roads with diesel oil to cause accidents.

Nevertheless, Geagea and other leaders of the March 14 coalition urged their followers to stay calm, avoid provocation and be determined to maintain a normal day of life because the army and security forces would enforce law and order.

Beirut, 22 Jan 07, 21:07


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