Shiite cleric urges Lebanon balance

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 10 (UPI) -- A senior Shiite cleric called for a peaceful resolution of Lebanon's political and sectarian disputes as gun battles rocked Beirut for a fourth day Saturday.

Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah urged Christian and Muslim leaders to avoid "falling into the trap of sectarian speeches that instigate strife" in his weekly sermon Friday, according to the Daily Star newspaper.

Fadlallah called for Lebanese sectarian and political leaders to seek to preserve the country's delicate balance of power, which has been threatened by the latest violence.

"We could have done without this difficult situation which was triggered by improvised governmental decisions that do not respond to the simplest bases of internal consensus and sectarian balance," Fadlallah said.

The civil unrest was sparked by the Western-backed government's decision on Monday to shut down a private telecommunications system operated by Hezbollah. Since then, running gun battles in Beirut's streets have claimed 24 lives, according to the BBC.