Battles between Shia and Sunni Lebanese gunmen raged through the western half of Beirut last night as political leaders scrambled to find a compromise to prevent the country slipping into full-scale civil war.

At least three people were killed and more than 10 wounded as Hezbollah, the militant Shia organisation, fought partisans of the Sunni pro-Government Future Movement in the worst violence to strike the Lebanese capital since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Saad Hariri, the head of the Future Movement, appeared on television to propose a compromise to stop the fighting and return to the negotiating table. Mr Hariri suggested that the Lebanese army — which has been neutral in the current conflict — could vet the Government decision to dismantle Hezbollah’s private telephone network.

However, a senior adviser to Mr Hariri told The Times last night that the opposition had not accepted the offer, suggesting that the violence will continue.

The fighting began shortly after Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, declared that the Lebanese government’s decision to dismantle its telephone network was tantamount to a declaration of war.

“We have the right to defend our existence from whoever declares and begins a war on us, even if they are our brothers,” he said. “Whoever is going to target us will be targeted by us. Whoever is going to shoot at us will be shot by us.”

The fierce gunbattles ended a day of tense calm in Beirut as both sides awaited the Hezbollah leader’s pronouncement. In the Bekaa Valley and Tripoli in north Lebanon, several people were hurt in clashes in the mixed Sunni and Shia villages of Taalabaya and Saadnayel as Hezbollah and its allied Amal Movement fought Future Movement partisans.

Earth barricades prevented traffic from reaching the Syrian border along the Beirut-Damascus highway, and other parts of the Bekaa Valley were cordoned off by armed groups along sectarian boundaries.

In Beirut Hezbollah and its allies in the opposition reinforced barricades at key junctions and continued a blockade of Beirut airport. Near the entrance to the airport at the southern end of the Lebanese capital, several rows of earth barricades and burning tyres blocked the road.

Men, some wearing surgical masks to ward off the acrid smell of burning rubber, manned the last barricade before the airport terminal, refusing to allow anyone to pass by vehicle.

“No one can interfere with us here,” said an Amal officer who was in charge of the barricade and gave his name as Hajj.

In Tariq Jdeide, a mainly Sunni quarter and a bastion of support for the Future Movement, most residents were fearful for the future. “The people have nothing to do with what is happening. It is just the politicians playing these games with us,” Said Said, 48, a painter, said.

Ali Ismael, 25, said: “It is a terrible atmosphere here. People are very scared. They are all living in fear”. Mr Ismael, the owner of a shoe shop and a Shia, was interrupted by a friend who jokingly threatened to kill him because he was a Shia.

The two men laughed. “You see? Here, there’s no problem between Sunnis and Shia. We should be living like this everywhere,” Ibrahim Muhammad, 50, said.

Q & A

Who are Hezbollah?

Hezbollah is a militant Shia organisation founded in 1982 in response to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon that year. Supported by Iran and Syria, it leads the opposition against the Lebanese Government which it accuses of implementing American and Israeli policies

Who comprises the Lebanese Government?

The present Government was formed in 2005 after Syria pulled out of Lebanon after mass protests — known as the Beirut Spring. It is supported by the West and some leading Arab countries

Who are the combatants in the current fighting?

The two protagonists are Hezbollah and the Future Movement, a Sunni organisation headed by Saad Hariri. Mr Hariri is the son and political heir of Rafik Hariri, whose assassination in 2005 was blamed by many Lebanese on Syria

Are the Christians involved?

Lebanon’s Christian community is split between government and opposition supporters, but so far is staying out of the fighting. That means the conflict is increasingly taking on a Sunni-Shia tone.

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