The violence is getting worse in Lebanon, as the terror gang Hizballah tries to bring down the Lebanese government and Sunni-Shi’ite rivalries erupt at Beirut Arab University: Lebanon students clash; 2 reported dead.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Government and opposition supporters clashed at a Beirut university campus Thursday, battering each other with sticks, stones and even furniture in new violence spilling over from Lebanon’s political crisis. At least two people were reported killed.

Black smoke poured into the sky from cars engulfed in flames as armored vehicles full of troops moved in to try to keep the two sides apart. But the riot spread through the streets around Beirut Arab University as students smashed parked cars in a battle that raged for three hours.

The violence began with an argument between pro-government Sunni Muslims and supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah opposition movement in the university cafeteria, students said.

As the melee grew, Hezbollah supporters called in help, and residents from the surrounding Sunni neighborhood joined in. Dozens of vigilantes wearing blue and red construction hats and carrying makeshift weapons _ chair legs, pipes, garden tools, sticks and chains _ converged on the university and clashed with the police.

The army was called in with armored vehicles, firing tear gas and live rounds in the air to try to disperse the crowd.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah later appealed for calm on live television, asking his followers to clear the streets and allow security forces to operate. “It is a religious duty. All must … leave the streets and remain calm and restrain themselves and leave the arena for the army and the security forces to shoulder full responsibility to control the situation,” Nasrallah said in an audio message broadcast on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV and other channels.