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Strike is paused as labor protest paralyzes Beirut

  • Story Highlights
  • Strikers temporarily called off movement; they want better pay for public workers
  • Protests brought the Lebanese capital and its airport to a halt
  • Strikers are supported by Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group
  • Lebanon tense since president stepped down without a clear successor
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From Cal Perry
CNN
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BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Labor union members and anti-government Hezbollah supporters blocked roads with mounds of sand and burning tires Wednesday to demand higher salaries for public workers, protests that paralyzed the airport and much of the capital.

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Lebanese soldiers watch as protesters burn tires in Beirut.

Gunshots could be heard, but the origins were unclear. Lebanese soldiers set up checkpoints and patrolled the streets, as did civilian members of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, who blocked the route to the airport and staged a sit-in downtown.

The General Labor Confederation called off the strike after a few hours for security reasons and said it would be rescheduled.

Hezbollah was harshly criticized by Lebanon's top Muslim spiritual leader, who said it was using the demonstrations as a political opportunity. Members of Lebanon's other major Shiite party, Amal, also participated.

Travel was virtually impossible in the city, and most residents stayed home from work, school and businesses. The road to the airport was blocked. Video Watch as the protests bring Beirut to a standstill »

The Lebanese Cabinet recently raised the minimum wage for employees like school bus drivers and trash collectors from $200 a month to $330 a month, and workers say that's insufficient, given rising prices for food and other commodities.

In a rare display of anger toward Hezbollah, the highest Sunni spiritual authority in Lebanon criticized the group of taking advantage of the strike by turning it into a political opportunity and accused members of fomenting violence in Beirut.

"This strike is turning into a [civil] disobedience and an invasion to the streets of Beirut, carried out by militant gangs," charged the grand mufti, Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani. His speech was carried by the LBC network and Qatar-based Al-Jazeera.

"We used to think that Hezbollah is concerned with fighting the Israeli occupation, and all of a sudden it is turning to be a militant force to occupy Beirut, and this is why we call upon the Arab and Islamic nations to help us and stop these harmful aggressions in Lebanon," Qabbani said.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in 2006, and Israel occupied southern Lebanon during the fighting. Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group based in Lebanon, is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

"From my religious and national standpoint, I call upon the leaders of Hezbollah to pull out their fighters from the streets in Beirut and to cease the sit-down in Beirut and to fear God," Qabbani said.

"Because the Sunni Muslims are fed up with what is happening, these violations and aggressions, the Lebanese are no longer capable of enduring more hardship."

Lebanese journalist Oqab Sakr told Al-Arabiya, "the conflict today was clearly a Sunni-Shiite conflict. All the clashes happened in Sunni and Shiite areas. ... Today's slogans were purely sectarian, mainly Sunni and Shiite."

The strike didn't affect Christian eastern Beirut.

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The protest began about 9 a.m. Wednesday. Police said five people were injured at the seaport district of Corniche Al-Mazraa when someone threw a stun grenade.

Beirut has been tense since Lebanese President Emil Lahoud stepped down in November, leaving no clear successor. Currently, the country is being run by U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. He faces opposition from Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria.

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