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Grand Mufti: We had enough of Hezbollah
Published: Thursday, 8 May, 2008 @ 4:13 AM in Beirut (GMT+2)
Beirut- Lebanon's long-simmering political crisis erupted into violent clashes between supporters of Hezbollah-led opposition and those of the government Wednesday, with explosions and gunfire ringing out across the capital after Hezbollah paralyzed


much of the city with roadblocks of burning tires.

The clashes threatened to degenerate into an all-out sectarian conflict, with Hezbollah seizing offices of a major Sunni group and the Sunnis' spiritual leader denouncing the militant faction and appealing to the Islamic world to intervene.

"Sunni Muslims in Lebanon have had enough," Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Kabbani said in a televised address from his office, demanding an "end to these violations."

In unusually harsh words, he described Hezbollah as "armed gangs of outlaws that have carried out the ugliest attacks against the citizens and their safety," and called on Hezbollah leaders to withdraw their supporters from Sunni neighborhoods in Beirut.

Kabbani implicitly criticized Iran, saying "it is regrettable and sad that an Islamic state is funding such infringements that hurt the unity of Lebanese Muslims."

He warned Hezbollah against attacking the Lebanese civilians and hegemony over the Lebanese state and governmental institutions

What started Wednesday as a labor union strike supported by Hezbollah to protest the government's economic policies and demand pay raises quickly escalated into outright conflict at a time of rising political tension between the militant group and the government in their 17-month-long standoff.

HEZBOLLAH