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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Rival students clash in Lebanon | Rival students clash in Lebanon |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Clashes at a Beirut university between students from rival political factions have left at least one person dead and more than 20 injured, reports said. | Clashes at a Beirut university between students from rival political factions have left at least one person dead and more than 20 injured, reports said. |
| Fighting between government supporters and opponents broke out at the Beirut Arab University in the south of the capital and moved on to the streets. | Fighting between government supporters and opponents broke out at the Beirut Arab University in the south of the capital and moved on to the streets. |
| The army has been called in to try to break up the crowds and restore order. | The army has been called in to try to break up the crowds and restore order. |
| This follows a crippling Hezbollah-led opposition strike on Tuesday during which three people died in clashes. | This follows a crippling Hezbollah-led opposition strike on Tuesday during which three people died in clashes. |
| Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has been campaigning since the beginning of December to replace the Western-backed cabinet with a government in which it would have a veto. | Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has been campaigning since the beginning of December to replace the Western-backed cabinet with a government in which it would have a veto. |
| The protesters see the government as being too close to the West, and accuse it of bankrupting Lebanon. | The protesters see the government as being too close to the West, and accuse it of bankrupting Lebanon. |
| Difficult to contain | Difficult to contain |
| Black smoke billowed from cars engulfed in flames as armoured vehicles full of soldiers moved in, firing shots in to the air, trying to keep the rival groups apart. | Black smoke billowed from cars engulfed in flames as armoured vehicles full of soldiers moved in, firing shots in to the air, trying to keep the rival groups apart. |
| The clashes will be difficult to contain as the area is "a warren"Some of the injuries came as a result of gunfire in clashes between the students that included battles with sticks and rocks. | The clashes will be difficult to contain as the area is "a warren"Some of the injuries came as a result of gunfire in clashes between the students that included battles with sticks and rocks. |
| The fighting grew out of an argument between pro-government Sunni Muslims and supporters of the Shia Hezbollah-led opposition movement in the university's cafeteria, students said. | |
| As the row escalated Hezbollah supporters called in help, and residents from the local Sunni neighbourhood joined in. | As the row escalated Hezbollah supporters called in help, and residents from the local Sunni neighbourhood joined in. |
| The violence quickly spread from the main campus on to the streets and in to other parts of the capital. | The violence quickly spread from the main campus on to the streets and in to other parts of the capital. |
| The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the clashes will be difficult for the army to contain as it is a warren of an area - it is a house-to-house, street-to-street running battle. | The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the clashes will be difficult for the army to contain as it is a warren of an area - it is a house-to-house, street-to-street running battle. |
| The clashes come as foreign donors meeting in Paris pledged more than $7.6bn (£3.5bn) to help the country rebuild following last summer's conflict between Hezbollah militants and Israel. | The clashes come as foreign donors meeting in Paris pledged more than $7.6bn (£3.5bn) to help the country rebuild following last summer's conflict between Hezbollah militants and Israel. |