Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said today he feared continued street demonstrations, especially if they became sectarian, could turn Lebanon into a battlefield.
Thousands of supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition paralysed parts of central Beirut today on the second day of a campaign to topple the government.
Scores of tents sprung up overnight as protesters occupied parking lots, squares and streets leading to the government's headquarters bringing Beirut's normally bustling commercial district to a standstill.
Restaurants and cafes, usually packed with people on weekends, were shut. Many banks also stayed closed.
Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters rallied yesterday to demand the resignation of the Western-backed government, but Prime Minister Fouad Siniora insisted his government would not be toppled through demonstrations.
"This is a government elected by the people of Lebanon and a government which has the constitutional authority that election gives it," British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told reporters after meeting Mr Siniora in Beirut.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak also spoke in defence of Mr Siniora's administration today saying he feared the demonstrations could become sectarian and turn Lebanon into a battlefield.
"Wisdom is required in dealing with internal differences," Mr Mubarak told journalists in Sharm el-Sheikh, where he was meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"What I fear is that if the demonstrations continue, and take on a sectarian form, supporters of these sects from outside Lebanon will join in and no one will be able to control it, especially if it continues for a long time."
Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has branded the government a US puppet. It has been at loggerheads with Siniora's government over what it says was its failure to back the group during the July-August war with Israel.
Mr Mubarak, an ally of Washington in the Middle East, said he was worried outside forces could exacerbate the situation.
"And the result will be a transformation of Lebanon into a battlefield that subjects it to danger," he said.