An international donors conference for Lebanon has opened in Paris with the United States, France and the European Union pledging close to two billion dollars to support the embattled government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

More than 40 countries and international organisations were taking part in the one-day meeting Thursday to raise funds to help rebuild the country and shore up Siniora who has been facing calls from the Syrian-backed opposition to step down.

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

French President Jacques Chirac opened the meeting with an appeal for help to Lebanon where "terrible confrontations have brought death and destruction."

"A very substantial and immediate financial support from the international community is absolutely indispensable," Chirac told the gathering at a Paris convention center.He called for the implementation of all UN resolutions to ensure that Lebanon enjoys its "full sovereignty".

Ahead of the meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced 770 million dollars (594 million euros) in new aid to Lebanon, two-thirds of which is to go to strengthen Lebanon's security forces with training and equipment.

Chirac announced a 500-million-euro (650 million dollars) loan as part of the aid package while the European Commission pledged 400 million euros (519 million dollars).

The clashes "if anything make more important a message from the international community that it supports the democratically elected government of Lebanon," said Rice, who met Siniora early Thursday.

Lebanese officials have said they need several billion dollars to rebuild villages and infrastructure damaged in the July-August war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon's public debt has reached 41 billion dollars (32 billion euros), more than 180 percent of gross domestic product.To pull the country back from the brink, Siniora's goverment has proposed a five-year reform plan that would see a hike in value-added tax from 2008 and more privatisation.

The conference was to focus on three themes, how to kickstart the economy, improve living conditions for the Lebanese people and rein in the country's debt, over five years, from 180 to 144 percent of gross domestic product.

But it was also expected to provide a chance for Siniora's Western backers, France and the United States in particular, to send a message of warning to Iran and Syria against interfering in Lebanese affairs.

Hezbollah has denounced Siniora as a puppet of the West and is seeking to topple his government or force a power-sharing deal that would leave the Iranian- and Syrian-backed movement and its allies with veto power in cabinet.

US President George W. Bush accused Syria in his State of the Union speech Tuesday of using Hezbollah to reassert its control over Lebanon, which Damascus occupied for decades until popular protests forced it to withdraw its forces in 2005.Lebanon has been in a state of political deadlock since six pro-Syrian ministers, including two from Hezbollah, walked out of Siniora's government last November.

Tuesday's protests were the most serious challenge yet to Siniora's government from the Iran- and Syrian-backed opposition.

Syria occupied Lebanon for 30 years until being forced to withdraw its troops amid huge demonstrations sparked by the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri -- an outspoken opponent of Damascus.

Provided by AFP.