PARIS, Jan 25: International donors on Thursday pledged more than $7.6 billion in aid for Lebanon to bolster the Western-backed government in Beirut and help the country recover from war.

Saudi Arabia, the United States, France and multilateral lenders led the drive to raise the massive aid package at a donors' conference for Lebanon, which was partly ruined during the July-August war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The biggest pledges came from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, which together contributed more than two billion dollars.

Saudi Arabia put forward $1.1 bn, the United States $770 million and France $650 million.

“The amount raised totals a little over $7.6 billion,” French President Jacques Chirac announced at the meeting attended by more than 40 countries and international organisations.

The meeting was held two days after protests led by the Syrian-backed Hezbollah opposition erupted into violence, leaving three people dead and fuelling fears Lebanon could slide back into the civil strife that wracked the country in decades past.

“We can't overcome all our problems alone. We need the support of the international community,” Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora told the gathering at a Paris convention centre.Siniora has been facing calls from Hezbollah to step down and make way for a new government of national unity that would leave the Syrian- and Iranian-backed movement and its allies with veto power in cabinet.

The billions of dollars in aid were a clear sign of support for the embattled prime minister and provided a lifeline for his government as it battles its opponents and seeks to pull the country away from the brink of financial collapse.

Mr Chirac opened the meeting with an appeal to help Lebanon, saying “a very substantial and immediate financial support from the international community is absolutely indispensable.” Lebanese officials have said they need several billion dollars to rebuild villages and infrastructure devastated in the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon's public debt has reached $41 bn, more than 180 per cent of gross domestic product.

Pledges for Lebanon's recovery also came from the Islamic Development Fund offering $250m and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development with $700m.

Britain offered $48m to a UN agency to assist Palestinian refugees, many of whom are in Lebanon.

Much of the aid is in form of grants, soft loans and direct support to Siniora's government which has proposed a five-year reform plan that would see a hike in taxes and privatisation.

While the conference focused on the plight of the Lebanese, it also provided a chance for Siniora's Western backers to send a message to Iran and Syria against interfering in Lebanese affairs.

“The people of Lebanon deserve to live in peace, they deserve to make decisions about their political future, free from the threat of violence and free from political intimidation,” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the conference.

“The United States is dedicated to this task.” Chirac asserted that all UN resolutions must be implemented to restore Lebanon's full sovereignty while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called on “Lebanon's neighbours to fully respect its unity, independence and sovereignty.”—AFP