Shiite Protester Shot Dead In Beirut as Tensions Rise

BEIRUT, Dec. 3 -- Sunni residents and Shiite protesters clashed in the capital Sunday, leaving one man dead and raising tension across Lebanon on a third day of demonstrations aimed at toppling the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

The shooting death of the Shiite protester was the first reported since Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim movement, and its allies launched their anti-government campaign Friday, sending hundreds of thousands of followers to downtown Beirut, where armor, barricades and troops guarded the government headquarters where the prime minister has taken up residence. Thousands have camped there since, housed in canvas tents spread across downtown; tens of thousands more joined them Sunday.

Lebanese television stations and Hezbollah officials reported several clashes in Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley, and rumors swirled about the extent of the violence in a city and country riven by divisions of politics, personal loyalties and sect. The worst clash was at the edge of the Sunni neighborhood of Tariq Jdideh, for weeks one of the city's tensest fault lines. Television stations said Sunni residents threw stones at a van carrying Shiite protesters from downtown after nightfall. Passengers got out and, in the ensuing melee, a few cars were damaged before the army stepped in and broke up the crowd.

Accounts differed on the death of the protester, whom Hezbollah officials identified as a 26-year-old. Some said he was shot during the melee, others after it was broken up. Lebanese security officials said they were still trying to confirm the details of the death. News agencies reported that as many as 12 people were hurt in all in the clashes.

There is a deep worry here that the mobilization of supporters by Hezbollah and its allies -- as well as another demonstration by Hezbollah's foes during a funeral last month -- will worsen clashes along the city's many fault lines: pro- and anti-government, Christian allies and opponents of Hezbollah, and the sectarian divisions among Christians, Shiites and Sunnis. Several fights have already broken out in Tariq Jdideh. On Thursday, dozens of Sunni and Shiite residents fought in the streets there.

In downtown, the biggest crowds gathered since the protests began Friday, giving rise to scenes that took on a surreal air. The crisis could decide the fate of the government and Lebanese politics for years to come.

Organizers said 20,000 runners took part in the Fourth International Beirut Marathon, scheduled long before the demonstration. One of its advertisements read, "Run for life." The routes were redrawn to skirt parts of the protest, but at one intersection near downtown, the marathon's posters and flags mixed with green and orange banners carried by demonstrators.

"This is democracy," said Helena Shaar, a little winded from the race. "Some demonstrate. Some go to a marathon.

"This is the puzzle of Lebanon," she added.

Near the protest itself, within eyeshot of the government headquarters known as the Serail, there were dueling Masses. One was organized by supporters of Michel Aoun, a Christian leader allied with Hezbollah, at the St. George Cathedral. Up the street, another was held inside the Serail itself, in memory of Pierre Gemayel, a Christian government minister assassinated last month. It drew Siniora, some of his government supporters and Gemayel's relatives, in what amounted to a show of solidarity.

"A solution to any problem does not come through the streets," Siniora told reporters afterward.

But there appears to be almost no attempt to reach a compromise in a crisis that erupted with Hezbollah's demand in October for a greater share of power in the cabinet and that, since Friday, has become part waiting game, part test of wills. Hezbollah has promised to keep the protests open-ended; government officials speak privately about a fear that demonstrators might try to storm the Serail, which Hezbollah and its allies denied.

After the Mass, Siniora appealed for parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah whose movement backs the protest, to restart dialogue between the two camps. They are divided by ideology, priorities for the country and alliances -- backing for the government comes from the United States and France, while support for Hezbollah comes from Iran and Syria. Both bring different views, as well, of the summer's 33-day war with Israel. Hezbollah considers it a victory; the government blames Hezbollah for starting it. Siniora seemed to suggest counter-protests were possible, but a key ally said government supporters would simply wait. The protesters said they would, too.

"The war went for 33 days, but the protests can go on for a year," said Mohammed Zeinati, a 26-year-old protester.

Around him, tents had multiplied, some going up along the barbed wire and barricades guarding the Serail.

He smiled. "I don't think it will take that long," he said, pointing at the Serail. "I'm hoping tomorrow they all leave."

Special correspondent Alia Ibrahim contributed to this report.