Beirut peaceful as Hezbollah pulls back

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Hezbollah militias pulled back from positions in western Beirut and government troops took over checkpoints there as peace returned to the Lebanese capital after days of deadly violence between rival Sunni and Shia Muslim gunmen.

Fighting was reported overnight in mountains overlooking Beirut, and pro- and anti-government forces clashed in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli. A cease-fire has been reached, but it is unclear if the truce will take effect.

At least 47 people have been killed and more than 188 wounded since the fighting broke out on Thursday, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said Monday.

The initial clashes were concentrated in Beirut, and spread to other areas of Lebanon. It was the worst sectarian violence since the end of the country's civil war in 1991.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the group rejected the gunmen's actions and he offered "logistic support" to the Lebanese army.

He said a delegation from the Arab League -- made up of Arab foreign ministers -- would visit Lebanon in hopes of negotiating an agreement between Lebanon's government and Hezbollah's Shiite movement.

The U.S. government -- which supports Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and condemns Hezbollah as a terror group -- has praised Lebanese forces and the prime minister for trying to restore order in the streets. The Bush administration considers Hezbollah a destabilizing force in the Middle East with its strong ties to Iran and Syria.

The Hezbollah-led opposition has delivered a series of crushing blows to its Western-backed political opponents by imposing itself in the mountains, asserting dominance over predominantly Muslim West Beirut, silencing key pro-government television stations and closing Beirut's international airport.

The embattled government still stands, but the coalition that backs him has been severely weakened. The Lebanese army, it seems, can do little but deploy in positions where the opposition has made substantial gains in power and authority.

On Sunday people in Beirut could hear explosions from fighting in nearby mountain villages in the Mount Lebanon area, the stronghold of pro-government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

Anti-government forces bombarded Jumblatt's area with artillery while ground forces attacked Druze positions using rockets and machine guns, according to Western military observers. The fighting set off renewed panic among city and mountain dwellers as columns of smoke rose from Druze communities.

"What is happening now in Mount Lebanon is a threat for civil peace," Jumblatt told Lebanon Broadcasting Corp.

The battles prompted Jumblatt, a key government supporter, to back down in the face of what his supporters called an onslaught from the anti-government forces.

"It's useless to fight," he said.

Jumblatt authorized his Druze rival, Talal Arslan -- who is allied with the Hezbollah-led opposition -- to effectively negotiate a truce in the region.

"My peers in the opposition have agreed that the centers and arms should be handed over to the Lebanese army, in coordination with Jumblatt," Arslan said.

"I ask the opposition members, of all sides, to come to an immediate cease-fire. I will contact Gen. Michel Sleiman after this press conference to lay a plan to have the army take full control of the entire region of Mount Lebanon."

Arab foreign ministers met in Egypt on Sunday to try to find a solution to the latest deadly crisis and Pope Benedict XVI urged the Lebanese people to find a "reasonable compromise" to end their conflict, The Associated Press reported.

Benedict told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square that he was following "with deep concern" the developments in Lebanon, where, "with political initiative at a stalemate, first came verbal violence and then armed clashes, with many dead and wounded."
Source : CNN.