Young men blocked the roads leading to the airpot with burning tyres and dirt in shadow of heavy presence of military and anti-riot forces.

The source said young activists set rubber tyres alight and established dirt barricades on the main roads leading to the airport, located south of Beirut, adjacent to the city suburbs.

The source said the strike called by the Labor Union to protest hard living conditions of the country's labor force was observed in many areas including the Bekaa in eastern Lebanon and Akkar in the north.

Many shops, businesses and schools were shut, but most of the banks opened as usual.

Workers and opposition activists are expected to stage a large demonstration across the streets of the capital to protect low income and spreading poverty in the country.

The strike coincided with a tit-for-tat war of words between the pro-government camp and the opposition over discovery of a camera set up at a location ovrlooking the runways of the airport, several days ago.

The government said that the camera was set up by Hezbollah, in defiance of the state authority, and pledged to dismantle an independent communication network for the group. Hezbollah said the communication network was part of the organization's arms and would resist any bid by the government to remove it.

The latest fiery rhetoric between the two sides came against the backdrop of a serious political crisis, manifested with failure to agree on a consensus for electing a new president.

The Arab League has tried in vain to reach a conciliation in this respect, with the opposition saying repeatedly that the election of a new top leader for the country should be part of a package deal including allocation of a share in the leadership by the opposition.

The two sides, however, have theoratically agreed on electing Army Commander General Michel Suleiman as the president. -Kuna