One dead in student clash at Beirut Arab university

BEIRUT, Jan 25 (Reuters) At least one opposition student was shot dead and 25 were injured in street fights between rival groups of students loyal to the government and to the opposition at a Beirut university, witnesses and a security source said.

It was not immediately clear who shot the student in the head.

Al-Manar television, run by the opposition's Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah movement, blamed the shooting on pro-government gunmen loyal to Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri.

At least 25 people were injured, some by gunfire, in the clashes that included running battles with sticks and stones in the Arab University and nearby streets. Cars and tyres were set ablaze in the area.

Lebanese soldiers fired into the air to try to disperse the crowds, to no avail.

Television stations run by both camps blamed each other for the violence. Witnesses reported shots fired at the students from rooftops in the mainly Sunni areas and attacks by a Shi'ite mob on a Sunni-run school in another area of the capital.

Hezbollah issued a statement urging its supporters to pull out of the streets around the university while Hariri urged supporters to show self-restraint and calm.

The opposition launched nationwide protests on Tuesday which shut down much of Lebanon and sparked violence in which three people were killed and 176 wounded.

The opposition want veto power in government and early parliamentary elections to topple the cabinet of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Siniora and his main backer, parliamentary majority leader Hariri, have refused to give in to the demands.

REUTERS MS ND2052