Clashes in northern and eastern Lebanon, outside Beirut

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Supporters of Lebanon's U.S.-backed government and opponents battled with rockets and machine guns in the mountains overlooking Beirut Sunday as clashes shifted to outside the capital.

Beirut was quiet a day after Hezbollah gunmen left the streets, heeding an army call for the Shiite fighters to clear out. The city had been the focus of four days of Sunni-Shiite clashes that culminated with Hezbollah seizing large swaths of Muslim West Beirut, demonstrating its military might in a showdown with the government.

So far, 38 people have been killed in clashes that began Wednesday, the worst sectarian violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

The violence grew out of a long-simmering power struggle between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the U.S.-backed government. The opposition quit the Cabinet 17 months ago, demanding a veto over all government decisions. The deadlock has kept parliament from electing a new president since November.

Hezbollah's demonstration of its power over the past week was a blow Washington. The U.S. has long considered Hezbollah a terrorist group and condemned its ties to Syria and Iran. The Bush administration has been a strong supporter of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government and its army for the last three years.

The conflict also has heightened concerns in the Middle East and the West over Iran's growing influence and its intentions in the region.

The worst violence over the weekend was outside of Beirut. On Sunday, heavy fighting broke out in the central mountain town of Aytat and the sounds of heavy machine gunfire and explosions from the clashes rolled across Beirut, 9 miles away.

As the fighting raged in the mountain region, black smoke could be seen billowing from Druse villages.

Pro-government supporters of Druse leader Walid Jumblatt and Shiite gunmen and their allies exchanged rockets and machine gunfire, security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The violence spread to the nearby towns of Kayfoun, Qamatiyeh, Bchamoun and Chouweifat, they said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The clashes came a day after Hezbollah accused Jumblatt's followers of killing two of their supporters and kidnapping a third.

The Aley region is predominantly Druse and Maronite Christians. However, two villages in the area are dominated by Shiites, many of them Hezbollah supporters.