27/01/2008 Three men were martyred and more than 18 others injured in Beirut on Sunday as unknown gunmen opened fire during protests over chronic power cuts in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. Two of the martyrs are, Ahmad Hamza Hamza, 21, was a member of the Amal movement, a party member said, but insisted he was not involved in the demonstrations and the second martyr is Youssif Shokeir.
 
Spontaneous protests erupt in the southern suburbs of Beirut where demonstrators had blocked roads with blazing tires to protest at power cuts in that area. And as night fell, demonstrators also cut the main airport road with burning tires and that similar protests were underway in other parts of Beirut's southern suburbs.
 
An Amal official said that Hamza was not among the protesters. "Hamza was not a demonstrator. He cooperated with the army on a regular basis whenever there were such similar protests in the region," he said. "The protests were initially spontaneous."
 
According to the security official, the shooting occurred after demonstrators set ablaze tyres, blocking a main road linking the Chiyah and Mar Mikhael neighborhoods in the southern suburbs to protest power shortages. The army fired warning shots to disperse the demonstrators, the official said.
 
Dozens of demonstrators were on the streets between the neighborhoods of Chiyah and Mar Mikhael and some protesters were also emerging on the streets further south, witnesses said.
Demonstrators have faced off with security forces on several occasions in the past few days over the power cuts.