BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah and its allies called for mass protests in Beirut Friday in an effort to bring down Lebanon's Western-backed government, which the militant group's leader called incompetent.

Hassan Nasrallah said Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's administration "has failed to fulfill its promises and achieve anything significant." Peaceful protests should force it to resign, he said.

"I call upon you all for a popular action to put pressure to achieve this goal," Nasrallah said in a broadcast on Hezbollah's television station, Al-Manar, stressing that the demonstrations should be "peaceful and civilized."

Soon after he spoke, celebratory gunfire and firecrackers were heard in Hezbollah-controlled areas of Beirut.

Hezbollah and other opposition groups said on their television stations that the protest would begin on Friday at 3 p.m. in downtown Beirut, where Saniora's embattled government has its headquarters.

The call came after weeks of political tension between pro-Syrian groups in the opposition, led by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, and anti-Syrian factions supporting the government, which has wide Western backing.

The prime minister and members of his Cabinet have been bracing for mass demonstrations for days. The security forces have deployed troops, barbed wire and armored vehicles outside the main government office complex, where the prime minister and some ministers have been sleeping in a guest house.

Opposition groups said in a statement that they "call on all the Lebanese of all sects and parties ... to gather peacefully and stage an open-ended sit-in to protest the absence of real political participation and to demand a national unity government."

They called on supporters to carry only the Lebanese flag and to avoid displaying party banners or posters.

Although the statement said the protest would be peaceful, any attempt by demonstrators to take over government buildings could lead to violence. Groups that support Saniora's government have previously vowed to call counter-demonstrations.

Army Commander Michel Suleiman was quoted Thursday as having told his troops to be fully prepared to fulfill their role of "protecting freedom of expression and preventing riots and attacks on public and private property."

Suleiman ordered soldiers to "keep the same distance from everyone and safeguard the security of all citizens, including the pro- and anti-goverment parties," several newspapers reported. He also said they should "not to hesitate in intervening to prevent clashes between the two sides."

Hezbollah, emboldened by its performance in its summer war with Israel, has been pushing for a bigger share of the Cabinet, demanding that the militant group and its allies acquire sufficient seats to veto decisions.

But the anti-Syrian majority in parliament, which backs Saniora, has rejected Hezbollah's demands, prompting the resignation of a quarter of the Cabinet — five Shiite Muslims and one Christian — early this month.

Last week, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel was assassinated in a suburban Beirut street, renewing fears that the political crisis was carrying Lebanon back to the sectarian violence of the 1975-90 civil war.

Subsequently there has been scattered unrest in Christian areas of Beirut and Shiite Muslims have rioted in their neighborhoods.

The Cabinet's approval Monday of a draft accord to create a tribunal to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has widened the rift between anti- and pro-Syrian forces. The son of Hariri leads the anti-Syrian camp, which accuses Damascus of orchestrating the assassination — a charge that Syria has repeatedly denied.

In his address Thursday, Nasrallah stressed that the purpose of his action was to participate strongly in government decisions.

"We are not talking about eliminating others," he said. "Negotiations and consultations have reached a dead end because the ruling authority has opted to act unilaterally despite its inability to rule." -AP