BEIRUT, Jan 28: The Lebanese army was on high alert here on Monday as funerals were held for some of the six people killed in weekend riots that have stoked fears of civil unrest.

Troops were out in force, setting up sandbags and checkpoints along roads leading from the mainly Shia neighbourhoods of southern Beirut to Christian areas of the capital.

The scene was a stark reminder of the beginning of the 1975-1990 civil war as the first line of demarcation at the time was in the same area.

The army said six people were shot dead in Sunday’s riots, including activists Amal and Hezbollah. About 29 people were injured, the army said.

Officials had earlier reported seven people killed in what the Arabic newspaper Al-Mustaqbal termed “Black Sunday”.

Funeral processions were held in Beirut and southern Lebanon for several victims, with mourners angrily accusing the government and the army of being responsible for the unrest. There were no reports of clashes.

Prime Minister Fuad Siniora declared Monday a day of mourning and ordered all schools and universities shut in an apparent attempt to prevent further clashes between rival political groups.

“This is an hour of sadness. Our country is passing through the most dangerous times,” he said after the riots, the worst street disturbances in Lebanon in a year.

The nation has been embroiled in a deep political and security crisis since the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri in February 2005.

The backlash against his killing resulted in Syria withdrawing its forces from its tiny neighbour after a presence of nearly 30 years.

Sunday’s violence broke out after youths protesting power cuts in Shiyah entered the nearby area of Ein el-Rommaneh and began throwing stones and setting cars on fire, newspaper reported.

The situation quickly escalated after a member of Amal was shot in the back. Youths turned out in several neighbourhoods, setting tyres ablaze and briefly shutting down the main road leading to the airport.

Protests also broke out in the southern coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre and in the eastern Bekaa region.

The bloodshed raised fears of civil strife in a country already grappling with its worst political crisis since the end of the civil war and with a series of assassinations mainly targeting anti-Syrian figures.—AFP