The fighting came two days after a Hezbollah-led general strike to topple the government. Four people died and dozens were injured before Army troops backed by tanks and firing barrages of warning shots into the air dispersed most rioters. The military then declared Beirut's first curfew since 1996.

Earlier, hundreds of protesters blocked off several roads including the one leading to Beirut international airport with rubble and burning tires on 23 January at the start of a general strike called by the opposition. Angry protesters cut off roads in several streets in central Beirut, and mainly Shia southern suburb and the southern and northern entrances of the capital.

Clustering in small groups to man the blazing roadblocks, opposition supporters escalated their nearly two-month protest. Commuters were stranded and an eery silence hung over many commercial districts. Burned tyres sent plumes of black smoke into Beirut skies as security forces began deployment in various streets. Scattered violence was reported involving stone throwing, fist fights and even firing of guns. Police said 14 people sustained gunshot wounds in disturbances between opposition supporters and pro-government activists in central and northern Lebanon. Hospital sources have been reported as saying at least two people were wounded when gunmen fired at men trying to block the roads at dawn. 

The Hezbollah-led opposition has been running a campaign and organizing massive street protests, sit-ins, over the past months calling for the West-backed government, led by Fouad Saniora to step down. Last week, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned that his opposition alliance will step up its anti-government campaign and mount an "effective" action in the coming days. The present strike is backed by labor unions. Prime Minister Fuad Saniora on the other hand urged Lebanese to ignore the call, a move endorsed by banking associations and business leaders. Many workers stayed home, either in support of the strike or simply fearing violence; some schools which had earlier said they were open sent mobile text messages to parents announcing closures because of the unrest. Blazing roadblocks cut off the road to Beirut international airport and the highway linking Beirut with the mountains and the road to Damascus, the Syrian capital. Five flights arrived at the airport, six others left but another seven flights were canceled due to the unrest.

The unrest came just before Saniora and his economic teams are to seek financial aid for the country at an international donors' conference in Paris. The opposition said the grants and loans will only increase the national debt and further weaken the economy. 

Hezbollah is a political and military party in Lebanon founded in 1982 to fight the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon. It is regarded by many in the Arab and Muslim world as a legitimate militant Shia political party in Lebanon . In addition to its military wing, Hezbollah maintains a civilian arm, which runs hospitals, various news services, and educational facilities. After emerging during the civil war of the early 1980s, Hezbollah focused on expelling Israeli and Western forces from Lebanon. Hezbollah is an active participant in the political life and processes of Lebanon, and its scope of operation is far beyond its initial militant one. In 1992, it participated in elections for the first time, winning 12 out of 128 seats in parliament. It won 10 seats in 1996, and 8 in 2000. In the general election of 2005, it won 23 seats nationwide, and an Amal-Hezbollah alliance won all 23 seats in Southern Lebanon. Since the end of the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon on May 22, 2000, Hezbollah has been involved in activities like building schools, clinics, and hospitals.

The opposition has vowed to keep up protests until their demand that is the government's resignation, is met.

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