Day of mourning after deadly gun battles in Lebanon

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Day of mourning after deadly gun battles in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon observed a day of mourning on Friday, a day after lethal gun battles between Christian and Shiite Muslim militias erupted in the capital in a faint but dangerous echo of the 15 year civil war that devastated the country.

With schools and businesses closed, the streets of Beirut were hushed, the city preparing for funerals later on Friday. Residents stayed inside the building, watching news reports tense with speculation: Will Prime Minister resign? Would the violence escalate into a more prolonged conflict, as sectarian clashes are prone to doing in deeply divided Lebanon?

On Friday - early the country -- already in the grip of an economic meltdown compounded by political paralysis and first year's huge explosion in the Beirut port — appeared to have kept further violence at bay, at least for now. However, among the Lebanese, it was hard to escape the fear, frustration and misery. The adjoining neighborhoods where the gun battles broke out for about four hours on Thursday, Tayouneh and Badaro, were on the front line of the civil war when Beirut was divided as Christian militias in west Beirut battled Muslim militias in east Beirut, making it one of the most volatile areas in the city.