BEIRUT, 9 May 2008 — Fierce gunbattles erupted in Beirut yesterday 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, engulfed in a paralyzing 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.

Supporters of the Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition were engaged in shootouts in several mixed districts of the capital, with fighters using rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, a security official 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, with television footage showing gunmen, some of them hooded, firing at each other. There were no reports of casualties, although armed clashes in other towns earlier left at least eight people wounded.

Nasrallah said his powerful group was ready to use its weapons, in a fiery speech on the second day of anti-government protests which saw supporters of rival factions block roads with burning tires and force the closure of Lebanon’s international airport.

“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.

The government on Tuesday launched a probe into a private communications network run by Hezbollah, which critics say has become a “state within a state.”

The White House said Hezbollah must “stop their disruptive activities” while the UN Security Council urged calm and voiced support for Lebanon’s state institutions. “Hezbollah needs to make a choice: Be a terrorist organization or be a political party, but quit trying to be both,” said US national security council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

He said US President George W. Bush would discuss the turmoil when he meets Fouad Siniora in Egypt next week during a Middle East tour. Arab League chief Amr Moussa urged Lebanon’s leaders to avoid any further escalation.

Saad Hariri, leader of Lebanon’s parliamentary majority, called on Hezbollah to lift its “siege on Beirut” and withdraw its armed members, describing the sectarian violence as a “crime that must stop immediately.”

He also proposed a deal to end the conflict, appearing to row back on government decisions which the group had viewed as a declaration of war. Hariri outlined a deal that would consider the government decisions a “misunderstanding”.

Nasrallah had said Hezbollah was ready for dialogue but demanded the government rescind its measures against his movement.

“The hand that touches the weapons of the resistance will be cut off,” he warned. “We have the right to confront he who starts a war with us by defending our rights and our weapons.”

The latest unrest in Lebanon, engulfed in its worst crisis since the civil war, erupted on Wednesday during a strike over price increases and wage demands. “If this situation continues, everyone will lose and this will affect the unity of the military,” the army command warned.

A security official said that while the army’s mission was to maintain order, troops could not intervene to stop the clashes.

Protesters burned tires and lit fires along the airport road, which remained blocked by large mounds of earth dumped by Hezbollah supporters, while government loyalists set up roadblocks and set tires ablaze along the main highway to Syria and between Beirut and the southern coastal city of Sidon.