Hizbollah loyalists riot in Beirut over TV satire

BEIRUT, June 2 (Reuters) Thousands of Lebanese Shi'ite Muslims burned tyres and blocked roads in Beirut to protest against a satirical television show that mocked Hizbollah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The protest against the show aired on the Christian-owned LBC television highlighted sectarian tension in a country bearing deep scars from its 1975-1990 civil war.

Chanting ''Here we come Nasrallah,'' and ''with our souls, our blood we redeem you Nasrallah,'' the guerrilla group's loyalists blocked a main road leading to Lebanon's sole international airport yesterday.

Hundreds of members of the security forces erected roadblocks to prevent the protesters from advancing beyond Beirut's southern suburb, Hizbollah's stronghold, towards the city centre.

The protest prompted Nasrallah to deliver rare telephone interviews on two television stations, thanking the protesters for their support but urging them to end their demonstration.

''I call on them, I demand that they end this gathering and this demonstration and return to their homes and families,'' he said. ''I promise them that their brothers at Hizbollah will pursue this matter through the suitable channels.'' The weekly show has a reputation for mocking Lebanon's political leaders but it was the first time that its actors had impersonated Nasrallah, a much-respected turbaned cleric.

The show's producer and director, Sharbil Khalil, appeared on television and apologised for the episode, stressing his respect for Nasrallah, whose Hizbollah group is backed by Syria and Iran.

Hizbollah's attacks helped end Israel's 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000. But the issue of its weapons is hotly debated by Lebanon's leaders, with anti-Syrian Christian, Sunni and Druze politicians demanding the group relinquish its weapons and stick to politics. Hizbollah refused to do so.

Reuters PDS VP0700