Beirut: Deadly gunbattles erupted in Beirut today after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah charged that a Lebanese government crackdown on his group was tantamount to a "declaration of war," raising fears of a full-blown sectarian conflict.

Lebanon, paralysed by a political crisis for 18 months, has been rocked by two days of clashes between rival factions, leading to urgent appeals for calm in the deeply divided country and a blunt US warning to Hezbollah.

Three people were killed in the fighting which erupted between supporters of the Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition in several mixed Sunni and Shiite Muslim districts of the capital, hospital officials said.

In scenes ominously reminiscent of the 1975-1990 civil war, Beirut's streets were virtually deserted as loud explosions and gunfire shook the capital, as gunmen, some of them hooded, fired at each other with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.

Nasrallah delivered his fiery speech on the second day of anti-government protests which saw supporters of the rival factions block roads with burning tyres and force the closure of Lebanon's international airport.

As many as 30 people have also been wounded in clashes over the two days in Beirut and other towns.

"The (government) decisions are tantamount to a declaration of war and the start of a war... On behalf of the United States and Israel," he charged during a rare press conference.

Source : PTI