A Matter of Time

The violence in Lebanon appears to be escalating as there have been new riots in Beirut, leaving four more people dead. The riots occurred at the Beirut University.

Government and opposition supporters clashed at a Beirut university campus Thursday, battering each other with sticks, stones and even pieces of furniture in new violence spilling over from Lebanon’s political crisis. Four people were killed, an opposition-run television station reported.

NBN said two of the dead were students loyal to the opposition, which includes the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah and Amal groups. A security source said 35 people were wounded in the clashes.

Black smoke poured into the sky from cars engulfed in flames as armored vehicles full of troops moved in to try to keep the two sides apart. But the riot spread into the nearby streets around Beirut Arab University as students smashed parked cars and battled for hours.

This comes as an international conference on Lebanon has put together economic development funds of more than $7 billion for reconstruction. The United States, France, and Saudi Arabia are among those who are putting up the bulk of that figure.

Saudi Arabia pledged $1 billion in new money, while the U.S. offered $770 million and France proposed loans of 500 million euros ($649 million). Among the other 40 contributing countries were the U.K., Malaysia, Kuwait and Brazil, as well as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The aid is intended to help Lebanon work toward ``economic progress and social justice'' over the next five years, Chirac said at a press conference closing the one-day aid meeting.

Good luck dispensing that aid if Lebanon burns because of Hizbullah. Michael Totten points to a Daily Star article that paints a very grim picture.

UPDATE:
Via Abu Kais of From Beirut to Beltway, video of the rioting in Beirut (audio is in Arabic):



UPDATE:
The Lebanese government has ordered a curfew in the hopes of limiting the violence.