BEIRUT — Hezbollah gunmen melted off the streets of Beirut on Saturday, heeding an army call to pull the fighters out after the Shiite militants demonstrated their military might in a power struggle with the U.S.-backed government.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, in his first public statement since sectarian clashes erupted Wednesday, said Lebanon can no longer tolerate Hezbollah having weapons. He called on the army to restore law and order and remove gunmen from the streets.
Despite his tough talk, Siniora made a key concession to the Hezbollah-led opposition that would effectively shelve the two government decisions that sparked the fighting.
Muslim West Beirut was mostly calm a day after Hezbollah and its allies seized control of neighborhoods from Sunnis loyal to the government. Most Hezbollah gunmen had pulled out, leaving small bands of their Shiite Amal allies to patrol the streets.
Although tensions in the capital appeared to be defusing, violence spread and intensified in other parts of the country.
At least 12 people were killed and 20 wounded when pro- and anti-government groups fought in a remote region of northern Lebanon, Lebanese security and hospital officials said. It was the heaviest toll for a single clash since fighting began.
The violence grew out of a political standoff between the opposition, which pulled out of the Cabinet 17 months ago demanding veto power over government decisions. The deadlock has prevented parliament from electing a president, leaving the country without a head of state since November.
The standoff turned into clashes after the government confronted Hezbollah last week. It said it would sack the chief of airport security for alleged ties to Hezbollah and declared the group’s private telephone network illegal and a threat to state security.
Both declarations were reversed Saturday.
