Lebanese police and Christians clash

Relatives of the detained have petitioned the Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir

Lebanese police have clashed with hundreds of demonstrators protesting against a crackdown on the Christian-led opposition, and the rising influence of the military in Lebanon.

Demonstrator holding portraits of Christian leaders

The police dragged some protesters to the ground and then drove them away in vans.

Since Tuesday, the Lebanese army intelligence services have rounded up about two hundred people, mostly students, lawyers and engineers.

They are all members and supporters of two Christian parties: the Free Patriotic Movement and the disbanded Lebanese Forces, who are opposed to the presence in Lebanon of thousands of Syrian troops.

On Wednesday evening, another 24 people were arrested.

Freedom

At least 10 of them were students, followers of a third party, the National Liberal Party, who were arrested in Beirut as they distributed flyers announcing the death of freedom in Lebanon.

Most of those arrested are still being questioned at the ministry of defence.

Sixteen defendants are already standing trial at the military tribunal, and are charged with defaming the president and harming the reputation of "the sisterly Syrian army".

The Lebanese deputy minister of defence, Elias el-Murr, said that the first results of the interrogation were beginning to reveal a plot to partition the country by using the opportunity of a possible Israeli strike.

Unconstitutional

But several members of parliament, Christians and Muslims, have risen against the arrests.

Druze politician Walid Jumblatt has condemned the arrests

They say that the charges are very vague, are not based on any concrete proof and that the arrests are unconstitutional.

The council of ministers will be holding its weekly meeting on Thursday afternoon in the presence of the Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri, who was out of the country when the arrests started.