(Bloomberg) -- Lebanon's army said it would use force to disarm anyone carrying weapons in a bid to quell fighting between gunmen allied with the Hezbollah-led opposition and supporters of pro-Western Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

The military has strengthened its presence in the capital, Beirut, in the mountains and other areas that have witnessed clashes in the past week, Brigadier Saleh Haj Suleiman said in an interview today.

"The army will prevent any show of armed individuals and will stop anyone, even if it means the use of force," he said.

Violence in Lebanon broke out May 7 after the government discovered an electronic surveillance system used by Hezbollah to monitor Beirut's international airport and fired the head of security there. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose group fought a 33-day war against Israel in 2006, said the system is needed to protect Lebanon from an Israeli invasion.

Hezbollah, which the U.S. regards as a terrorist group, withdrew its fighters from western neighborhoods of Beirut two days ago after the government backed down on a threat to disrupt the surveillance system and a covert phone network.

While the capital remained calm yesterday, fighting broke out in Tripoli between Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to Siniora's government and members of the Alawite sect of Islam, who are aligned with a pro-Syrian party and Hezbollah.

U.S. Help

The U.S. will continue to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces so they can defend the government, President George W. Bush said late yesterday in a statement.

"It is critical that the international community come together to assist the Lebanese people in their hour of need," said Bush, adding he plans to discuss the issue with regional leaders during his Middle East trip this week.

"The international community will not allow the Iranian and Syrian regimes, via their proxies, to return Lebanon to foreign domination and control," he added.

The Bush administration accuses Syria of trying to undermine democracy in Lebanon and has implicated it in the 2005 car bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Public outrage over the assassination prompted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to comply with international demands and withdraw his troops from Lebanon after a 29-year occupation.

Syria has denied any involvement in Hariri's death and other political killings in Lebanon.

Veto Powers

Hezbollah has been trying to oust the Siniora government since November 2006, when the Shiite group's lawmakers and allies walked out of the Cabinet demanding veto powers.

Siniora's ruling coalition includes Sunnis, Christians and Druze and is backed by the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other American allies in the Middle East. The Hezbollah-led opposition counts on support from a Christian party and a small Druze grouping and is backed by Syria and Iran.

Today's scheduled vote by lawmakers to elect a new president has been postponed a 19th time until June 10, said Ali Hamdan, spokesman for Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa plans to head a delegation to Lebanon that will try to resolve the crisis. The 22-member Arab League is expected to press all parties in Lebanon to return to talks and to order their supporters to stop the violence immediately.

A cease-fire was holding between Hezbollah fighters and Druze backers of Walid Jumblatt, who is aligned with Siniora, in the towns of Aley and Shweifat, Suleiman said yesterday.

The death toll from last week's fighting may have reached more than 80 people, Suleiman said. Not all the casualties have been accounted for, he said.

The International Red Cross has registered 39 dead and 75 wounded, spokesman Ayad Mounzer said yesterday.

By Massoud A. Derhally