VANCOUVER (CBC) - Fighting between pro- and anti-government supporters in Lebanon spread Sunday beyond the capital of Beirut to the mainly Druse mountains east of the city, officials said.

Hezbollah and its allies attacked areas held by pro-government supporters of Druse leader Walid Jumblatt. The army was deployed and a ceasefire was announced after several hours of fighting.

The violence, which began Wednesday, stems from a long-simmering power struggle between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the government.

The opposition quit the cabinet 17 months ago, demanding a veto over all government decisions. The deadlock has kept parliament from electing a new president since November.

Analysts said the outbreak of violence improves the chances for a breakthrough in the political crisis because the opposition now has the upper hand, which could force the government to compromise.

Anti- and pro-government supporters exchange gun fire, rockets

On Sunday, fighting between pro-government supporters of Jumblatt and Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allied gunmen started in the mountain town of Aytat around 2 p.m. local time involving exchanges of rockets and machine gun fire, officials said.

It later spread to the nearby towns of Kayfoun, Qamatiyeh, Bchamoun and Chouweifat, they added.

There were no initial reports of casualties.

Jumblatt called for a halt to the fighting and for the army to take control of the mountains.

He also called on his top Druse opponent, Talal Erslan, to mediate a ceasefire and hand over the mountain region to Lebanese troops.

The Progressive Socialist Party leader implicitly called on his militiamen to give up their positions and hand them over to the army.

He said the heavy clashes were threatening peace and insisted that maintaining peace in Lebanon should be the highest priority.

"Peace for civilians, a peaceful coexistence and putting an end to war and destruction, is above all else," Jumblatt told Lebanese broadcaster LBC.

Beirut city remained quiet Sunday

Beirut was quiet Sunday, a day after Hezbollah gunmen left the streets, heeding an army call for the Shia fighters to clear out.

The city had been the focus of several days of clashes that culminated with Hezbollah seizing large swaths of West Beirut, demonstrating its military might in a showdown with Sunnis loyal to Lebanon's U.S.-backed government.

Hezbollah gunmen seized most of the capital's Muslim sector Friday in the worst sectarian strife since a 15-year civil war ended nearly two decades ago.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora described the takeover as an "armed coup" aimed at destabilizing democracy.

The Lebanese army had remained out of the fighting Friday, but military commanders moved to restore calm Saturday by conceding two of Hezbollah's demands. Army commanders ordered troops Saturday to establish security in the capital of Beirut and is calling on all parties in the city to withdraw gunmen from the streets and reopen roads.

The army statement said it would run Hezbollah's controversial communications network, which the government had been trying to disband. An airport security chief fired by the government for his links to Hezbollah will also be kept on.

The measures are seen as conciliatory to Hezbollah. As well, they meet some of the demands issued by the group before they launched military action on Friday.

A total of 38 people have been killed and dozens wounded in the recent violence - the worst sectarian bloodshed since the 1978-90 civil war that killed 150,000 people and left Beirut divided along religious lines.

With files from the Associated Press

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