BEIRUT, Lebanon - On the sixth day of an indefinite sit-in in the centre of Beirut, Lebanese pro-Syrian opposition forces appeared adamant in their demand to oust what they described as the Western- backed government, despite signs of possible solutions in the offing, according to governmental sources Wednesday.

'There are domestic and Arab efforts, like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, who are ready to extend their mediation to help end the crisis peacefully,' a government minister, who requested anonymity, told DPA.

According to the minister, Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan will visit Beirut after visiting Damascus where he is to hold talks with Syrian officials, including President Bashar Al Assad. Erdogan visited Iran last week.

According to the minister, Erdogan 'will seek to keep the region from sectarian and confessional conflicts.'

Turkish Foreign minister Abdullah Gul was reported to have already contacted pro-Syrian Shiite Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri regarding mediation on the Lebanese crisis.

Arab League secretary general Amr Mussa, who was in Beirut over the weekend, said from Cairo 'there was a glimmer of hope' that the crisis might be defused.

Mussa said he had presented ideas on the issue of a tribunal into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, as well as on the formation of a new government and an international donors conference to help Lebanon's ailing economy.

On the domestic front, sources close to Premier Fouad Seniora told dpa that during a meeting late Tuesday with former MP Fathi Yakan, the head of the Islamic Action Front, and a representative of the pro-Syrian opposition, Yakan presented to Seniora a proposal for reducing tension and 'which might pave a way for a settlement based on a resumption of the political dialogue among Lebanese leaders.'

Yakan said he is opposed to using street action to force the government out of office. 'This is a red line,' he said.

According to Minister of Sports Ahmed Fatfat, who attended the meeting with Yakan, Seniora gave Yakan an old proposal for the expansion of the government to include representatives of the Opposition Free Patriotic Movement of Christian leader and MP Michel Aoun, who is a close ally of the Syrian and Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement.

The proposed government would consist of 19 ministers representing the anti-Syrian coalition, nine ministers representing the pro-Syrian opposition, and two independent ministers who would be neutral.

Meanwhile, tension on the streets across the capital remained as police reported fresh incidents in some Sunni Moslem sectors where cars and private property were damaged, increasing fears among Lebanese of the kind of sectarian strife taking place in Iraq.

Two days of street fights resulted in the killing of a Shiite opposition follower.

The Hezbollah led-opposition, made up of Shiite and Christian factions, has held demonstrations since Friday outside the governmental palace where Seniora's office is located.

The opposition is seeking a greater role in the Seniora government, which is dominated by an anti-Syrian parliament majority but is hanging on weakly after six pro-Damascus members, five of them Shiites, resigned. -DPA