(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-28 09:51

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Protesters angry about electricity rationing clashed with Lebanese troops Sunday in Beirut's worst riots in a year, leaving seven people dead, hospital and security officials said.

Opposition supporters set tyres on fire as they try to block the main road leading to Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. [Agencies]

Hundreds of Shiite Muslims opposed to the government rioted and burned tires, blocking some major roads in the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs.

Lebanese soldiers fired into the air to disperse the crowd, but it was unclear how the deaths occurred and whether the soldiers also intentionally fired on civilians.

The army said it was investigating, and Lebanese TV stations reported that unknown snipers may have been involved in an attempt to inflame the disturbances.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora declared Monday a national day of mourning, and schools and universities were ordered closed.

It was the Beirut area's worst rioting since clashes between Sunnis and Shiites at a university cafeteria in January 2007 left four people dead. That incident prompted the army to declare the city's first curfew in more than a decade.

Electricity cutoffs in recent months were extended for the first time to Beirut, where more than 1 million Lebanese live. More than 15 years after Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, the country's power grid still has not been fully restored, and such protests have been common in the past few weeks, mainly in areas where the opposition has strong support.

Lebanon is also embroiled in its worst political crisis since the end of the civil war. Former President Emile Lahoud left office on Nov. 23 without a successor, and parliament has so far failed to elect the army chief to replace him amid bickering between the parliament majority and the opposition.

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