Lebanon orders arrest of 11 soldiers over shootings

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Lebanese judge ordered on Saturday the arrest of three army officers and eight soldiers over the killing of opposition protesters a week ago in some of Beirut's deadliest street violence since the 1975-90 civil war.

Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah, a powerful group backed by Syria and Iran, had said the army mishandled Sunday's incident which occurred after troops opened fire to break up a protest in south Beirut over power cuts, and demanded a swift inquiry.

Seven supporters of Hezbollah and a Shi'ite ally were killed and some 30 protesters were wounded in the violence, the worst since pro-government supporters and opposition followers clashed in Beirut a year ago.

The bloodshed and Hezbollah's ensuing harsh criticism of the army, traditionally a close ally in its conflict with Israel, raised tension in a country going through a deep political crisis which has left it without a president since November.

Sunday's violence also fuelled fears of factional bloodshed unless a 14-month-old conflict between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the Western-backed ruling coalition is resolved.

In the first reaction to the investigation so far, a senior opposition source told Reuters:

"The initial results of the investigation show a high level of seriousness in (dealing with the matter) that assures us that things are going in the right direction."

Judge Jean Fahd also ordered the arrest of six civilians for rioting and bearing unlicensed arms.

Authorities had listened to 85 civilian witness statements and questioned 120 military personnel. They also made use of closed circuit television footage and media video footage of the violence.