By Tom PerryBEIRUT (Rooters) - Lebanon's opposition buried on Tuesday an anti-government demonstrator whose death in a street skirmish has raised sectarian tensions and the army's commander warned his forces might not be able to control the streets.
General Michel Suleiman was quoted as saying by a local news agency that daily protests aimed at ousting Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora risked getting out of hand and the military might be unable to keep the peace.
Hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims marched behind the coffin of 21-year-old Ahmed Mahmoud, who was shot dead on Sunday in a Sunni neighborhood while returning from an opposition rally, in a procession led by the pro-Syrian, pro-Iranian Hezbollah party.
"Death to Siniora," shouted some of the youths. "The blood of Shi'ites is boiling."
Television stations loyal to Hezbollah and to Sunni political leader Saad al-Hariri carried statements blaming each other for fuelling hostility in a country that has been wracked by two civil wars in the past half century.
"Television war threatens to ignite the fire of strife," Al-Balad newspaper said in its front-page headline.
The opposition took to the streets last Friday to demand the resignation of Siniora, calling for a national unity government and accusing the prime minister of failing to stand by Hezbollah during an Israeli offensive in July and August.
The Hezbollah-led opposition, which includes a populist Christian party, has vowed to continue its sit-in in front of government headquarters until the cabinet quits.
Siniora says he will not yield to the non-stop street protests, which have paralyzed the heart of Beirut.
ARMY WARNING
The local al-Markasiyah news agency quoted "informed sources" as saying General Suleiman had warned Siniora that the protests could get out of hand.
"The absence of political solutions along with a recurrence of security incidents, particularly those with sectarian overtones, drains the army's capabilities and weakens its immunity," the agency quoted Suleiman as saying, in a reference to the army's neutrality.
"This weakness will make the army unable to maintain its control of the situation in all areas of Lebanon."
The army, which has deployed heavily around Beirut in recent days, did not comment on the report.
Government allies accuse the opposition of orchestrating the protests to try to derail an international tribunal into the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which many Lebanese blame on Syria -- a charge Damascus denies.
Lebanon is one of the most religiously and politically divided countries in the Middle East, and the battle for control of the government will determine whether Lebanon shifts toward Iran and Syria or toward the United States and Europe.
Underlining international concerns, the leaders of France and Germany urged Syria on Tuesday not to interfere in Lebanon.
"(France and Germany) wish that Syria will no longer support forces that want to destabilize Lebanon and the region," German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac said in a joint statement after a meeting in Germany.
Sunni leaders in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have also issued statements in support of Siniora in recent days, apparently concerned over the growing influence in the region of Shi'ite Iran, which is funding Hezbollah.
Many politicians and observers have said the political tussle in Lebanon could ignite yet another civil war.
"The worst thing about the current crisis is there is no Arab or international mediator who can intervene ... after the potential mediators abandoned their roles and took sides," wrote commentator Sateh Noureddin in As-Safir newspaper.