Clashes continue in Lebanon for 5th day

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- More clashes erupted in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli on Monday, as fighting between the Hezbollah militia and its rivals who support Lebanon's Western-backed government entered a fifth day.

Lebanese forces are stationed in the Tripoli area, but the government has not ordered them to intervene out of concern that they would appear to be taking sides.

At least 58 people have been killed and 189 have been wounded since the clashes broke out on Thursday, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said Monday.

The violence is the worst to hit Lebanon since the end of its civil war in 1991. It started in Beirut, but quickly spread to nearby mountain villages in the Mount Lebanon area and the northern city of Tripoli.

Hezbollah militias have pulled back from positions in western Beirut and government troops have taken over checkpoints there as peace returned to the Lebanese capital's tense neighborhoods Monday.

The violence was triggered by the government's attempts to ban a telecommunications system used by Hezbollah.

The Shiite militant group said the system was instrumental in its resistance to Israel; Lebanon's government believed the system was being used to funnel information about anti-Syrian lawmakers to Damascus, a main backer of Hezbollah.

Talal Erslan, a Hezbollah-allied politician who announced a cease-fire agreement Sunday, expressed frustration at a news conference on Monday. Watch how a compromise could end the fighting »

While the cease-fire is being implemented in some areas, Erslan said, "we haven't succeeded in defusing the situation."

"Groups have to commit to the terms of the agreement," he said. "All military centers and warehouses with heavy weapons must be handed over today."

He said Lebanese army forces have been deployed to the southern regions of Mount Lebanon -- the site of heavy fighting on Sunday -- but could do little to stop the fighting. Watch how the fighting has shifted »

An Arab League delegation -- led by Qatar's foreign minister -- is heading to Lebanon this week in hopes of negotiating an agreement between Lebanon's government and Hezbollah's Shiite movement.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who is also going to Beirut this week, said the group rejected the gunmen's actions and he offered "logistical support" to the Lebanese army.

Lebanese Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun was pessimistic about the Arab League's attempts to broker peace.

"The Arab initiative does not and will not solve the problem," he said. "The initiative is aspirin. We need antibiotics."

The U.S. government -- which supports Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and condemns Hezbollah as a terror group -- has praised Lebanese forces and the prime minister for trying to restore order in the streets. The Bush administration considers Hezbollah a destabilizing force in the Middle East with its strong ties to Iran and Syria. See how the violence has spread »

For the past 17 months, Lebanon's elected, pro-Western government has been locked in a power struggle with Hezbollah.

Parliament is scheduled to convene Tuesday to try to elect a new president for the 19th time. It is unclear if the latest fighting will force the government to postpone the session.

Lebanon's presidency has been vacant since pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ended in November. Despite general agreement on army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman to fill the post, political wrangling among Lebanon's political factions -- including disagreements on how to share power in a future Cabinet -- has kept the issue from coming up for a vote.

The Hezbollah-led opposition has delivered a series of crushing blows to its Western-backed political opponents by imposing itself in the mountains, asserting dominance over predominantly Muslim West Beirut, silencing key pro-government television stations and closing Beirut's international airport.

While Siniora's embattled government still stands, the coalition that backs him has been severely weakened. The Lebanese Army, it seems, can do little but deploy in positions where the opposition has made substantial gains both in its power and authority.

CNN's Cal Perry and Brent Sadler contributed to this report.

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