The violence raised the stakes in a campaign by Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah and its Shiite and Christian allies to oust Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s Western-supported government and hold early parliamentary elections.

Lebanese troops tried to keep rival groups apart, but police said a member of the Christian pro-government Lebanese Forces party was shot dead in the town of Batroun, north of Beirut.

Another person was shot and killed in the mainly Sunni Muslim northern port of Tripoli. Police said gunfire wounded 35 people, many of them in the Christian towns of Byblos and Halba.

Siniora delayed plans to leave for Paris, where he is to attend an international aide conference for Lebanon. Officials said he would address the nation at 6:30 p.m. (1630 GMT).

Police said altogether more than 100 people were hurt in a day of skirmishes around the country. Stone-throwing crowds fought in Beirut and Christian areas to the north, even though troops caught in the middle fired in the air to deter them.

Black smoke billowed over Beirut as demonstrators shut main roads, including those to the port and international airport, to enforce a general strike called by Hezbollah and its allies.

Several airlines canceled flights. About 300 passengers were stranded at the airport because nearby roads were closed. Airport sources said 146 Chinese U.N. peacekeepers were also trapped there after flying in on a normal troop rotation.

“This government only understands force and today is only a small lesson,” protester Jamil Wahb told Reuters in the Shiite southern suburbs. “We will stay here until they give in.”

The army, which has been guarding government offices in central Beirut since the opposition began protesting there on Dec. 1, has few extra troops to deploy. It is already stretched after moving thousands of men to south Lebanon and the Syrian border following Hezbollah’s war with Israel last year.

One Christian leader said Tuesday’s protests were tantamount to a coup attempt.

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