Photo by: AFP

On Monday few people ventured on to the streets of Shwayfat, with burnt-out cars by the side of the road and buildings pockmarked by bullet strikes. Some had gaping holes in them from rocket blasts. In some houses, photographs of pro-government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt had been slashed with knives by opposition militiamen.

Alaa, 55, lives in the Druze village of Baysur which was the scene of clashes with fighters from the nearby Shiite village of Kayfun late on Sunday. "Do they really think we're collaborators?” he asked, referring to Hezbollah claim that the ruling pro-Western bloc is conspiring with Israel. "We stood with them when Israel attacked. Have they forgotten that?" he asked, referring to the July-August 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Alaa said he doubted that villagers from Kayfun had taken part in the fighting. "We have a history of good relations with them. We even know each others' grandparents," he said. "A few even came over to attend a funeral the other day."

In Kayfun, the reaction was similar. "We will go back to Baysur," said Ali Jaber, 57. "We have been neighbours for a long time. We just need things to calm down. "It's in the hands of the government. It needs to resign or rescind its decisions. It's the only way," he added.

(AFP)