BEIRUT, Lebanon - British Prime Minister Tony Blair began his first visit to Lebanon Monday greeted by angry demonstrators protesting his stance on Israel's month-long war with Hezbollah guerrillas.

Security was tight, with police cordoning off a large section of downtown Beirut to traffic and prohibiting parking on the route of Blair's motorcade.

On the eve of the visit, Lebanon's top Shiite religious leader called on the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to declare Blair "persona non grata," describing him as a "key accomplice" in Israel's onslaught against Lebanon.

Blair arrived in Beirut after a trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he pushed for a resumption of the stalled Middle East peace process and the formation of a Palestinian national unity government.

The visit comes almost a month after a UN-brokered truce that brought a halt to the 34-day war between Israel and the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah that killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon and more than 160 Israelis.

The center of the capital was swarming with hundreds of soldiers and police armed with assault rifles guarding a cordon of barbed wire and cement barriers, and tanks were stationed inside the perimeter.

"The devil is America, and Blair is the devil's dog," chanted a crowd of about 1,000, many waving Lebanese flags and some holding posters of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

"Blair, the blood of Qana's children is all over your ugly face," was another chant, referring to Israel's bombing of a building in which 29 people died, including 16 children.

"(Blair) is the biggest criminal and a lackey for the US, and we don't understand why he's coming here," said Hamzi Mussa, 15.

As-Safir newspaper, which is close to the Shiite community, said the visit was a "political error that could have been avoided. It is proof that the government makes bad choices. The man is despised around the world, especially in his own country for his role in Iraq."

Even the pro-government An-Nahar said the visit "heightens tensions between the pro-Western parliamentary majority and Hezbollah."

A spokesman for Blair said the visit was aimed at expressing Britain's support for UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the deployment of a beefed-up international force in Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

London has pledged more than 22 million pounds (about 40 million dollars) in humanitarian aid to Lebanon and would be contributing a further 20 million pounds towards the cost of the UN force, he said.

Blair is also looking to redress a perceived pro-Israeli bias in British foreign policy, particularly after his refusal to back calls for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict that ended August 14.

Siniora's office had said Blair would also meet parliament speaker Nabih Berri. But a source close to Berri, leader of the Shiite party Amal that is close to Hezbollah, said Sunday he would be "out of town".

Asked whether it was a snub, Blair's spokesman said: "That's a matter for Nabih Berri."

He said Blair would meet the Lebanese cabinet, except for its two Hezbollah members, although he would have been "perfectly happy" to do so.

An AFP correspondent traveling with Blair said the entourage is expected to head to the airport immediately after a joint press conference with Siniora, cutting short an initial itinerary that included lunch and further meetings.

Blair's trip has been condemned by a senior Hezbollah official who accused him of being a "killer" because of his closely aligned stance with the United States during the war.

"He is up to his ears in the blood of Lebanese women and children. He is not welcome here. He is a killer. He killed a whole nation, not just individuals," Hezbollah politburo member Ghaleb Abu Zeinb told The Times in London last month.

Lebanon's most influential Shiite religious leader, Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, said Blair was a "key accomplice in the Israeli-American offensive against Lebanon and he should at least be called to account and not warmly welcomed".

He called on Siniora's government to declare Blair "persona non grata," accusing him of "facilitating the arrival of destructive American armaments in Israel", referring to the use of British airports by US jets carrying missiles to Israel.

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