Three civilians were shot dead Thursday when Lebanese troops opened fired on stone-throwing demonstrators in an impoverished southern suburb of the capital protesting high gasoline prices, hospital sources said.
"We received three people who were killed by gunshots -- two in the neck and one in the stomach," said Georges Karam, a doctor at the Sainte Therese hospital.
"The three were all civilian men," said Karam, who said the hospital had not admitted anyone injured in the incident in the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood.
Firefighters had used water cannons to disperse about 600 demonstrators in the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood, which prompted protestors to retaliate with stones, the source said.
A fire brigade official confirmed the police report, saying there were no casualties among firefighters.
Soldiers also beat a protestor lying on the ground and loaded two others aboard a military truck.
Army armored personnel carriers were seen moving into the teeming neighborhood as shots continued to be heard in the area.
An AFP photographer said earlier troops had fired assault rifles into the air to disperse the protestors, who were participating in a nationwide action called by the CGTL trade union confederation.
The CGTL had called for sit-ins in major cities to protest government fiscal policies and petrol prices, which they want cut from about 17 dollars per 20 liters (5.3 gallons) to some 10 dollars.
Taxi drivers were seeking to shut main roads in Beirut and in the south.
Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has urged his justice minister and the general prosecutor to investigate why gas stations have failed to comply with last week's cabinet decision to cut the price for 20 liters by about 1.30 dollars.
Taxi drivers blocked a roadway to the southeast of the capital where many shops were closed, traffic was slow and pedestrians struggled to find taxis, witnesses said.
Outside the cabinet headquarters, dozens of protestors held a sit-in, carrying banners denouncing the high gasoline prices, corruption, fiscal policies and unemployment.
"The government is forcing us to go back to a no-oil era," read a placard showing a donkey.
Under the watchful eye of army and security forces, the protestors chanted slogans against the government for a couple of hours before dispersing peacefully.
In the southern Mediterranean port of Tyre, about 100 cabbies blocked access to the city for about one hour before giving in to orders by army and security forces to reopen the roadway.
Taxis then roamed the rather empty streets of the city, with symbolic loaves of bread on their roofs before gathering in a main central square to denounce what drivers said was a government attempt to "force us into hunger."
About 40 unions answered the CGTL strike call, crippling private and public schools, public transportation, and many businesses and industries across the country.
The president of the confederation of public transportation drivers, Abdel-Amir Najda, warned Wednesday that more than 40,000 taxi and bus drivers would strike and warned they might cut off roads across the country.
Drivers unions have vowed to escalate protests and threatened to resort to cheaper fuel -- such as banned diesel -- from July 1.
The Lebanese industrialists' association decided to halt commercial activities for the day, without stopping production. Industrialists have been denouncing high costs of production, including power fees.
Trade associations, the public administration and banks decided to remain open.
"We support the demands, but given the present economic crisis, no business can afford shutting down for even a day," explained Hisham, the owner of a textile company.
Mohammed Shahabeddin, deputy president of the Beirut International Airport said "private airlines will observe a symbolic work stoppage" between 11:00 am (0800 GMT) and 2:00 pm (1100 GMT).
"But given that activity is low during these three hours, activities and flights at the airport will not be affected," he added.
Lebanon's economy remains troubled, with a public debt of 34 billion dollars, or 185 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product. Debt servicing accounts for 47 percent of state revenues.
The private sector has been badly hit, leading to thousands of job losses since last year.
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