Beirut - For most Lebanese trying to pick up the pieces after a week of violence which claimed 82 lives, the only glimpse of hope now is a dialogue among their leaders in Doha.

'Finally we have reached the red point, either they sit and talk or the whole country will be wrapped in black,' said Beirut resident Shrine Baydoun.

All eyes are now focused on Doha, where the rival Lebanese leaders - the Hezbollah-led opposition on one hand and the Sunni and Druze followers of the Western-backed governing coalition on the other - are to meet in another bid to resolve the country's political crisis.

'I just hope they will able to talk to each after all this,' said Jihan al-Masri, a Druze from Mount Lebanon.

Arab mediators succeeded Thursday in containing Lebanon's cycle of violence threatening to blow up into a full-fledged sectarian war. The deal was announced by Qatari Prime Minister-Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem al-Thani at a news conference in Beirut.

The six-point plan said leaders of the rival factions agreed to meet Friday in Doha to elect Army Commander General Michel Suleiman as president and to form a national unity government.

Both sides have long accepted his nomination for a post reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system.

The feuding factions agreed on spreading state authority throughout Lebanon, on refraining from using weapons for political aims, withdrawing gunmen from the streets and halting propaganda campaigns that spread hatred.

The two sides also agreed to reopen roads that have been blocked for nearly a week.

'You know, I am happy they are going to Doha. At least we won't have to listen to their bickering on television every night, commented Samir Hajjar, a resident of Beirut.

'I am afraid now that our leaders are in Doha, they will divide the Lebanese community living there like they manage to do here,' he added.

The government, supported by the West and Saudia Arabia, had already backed down from two decisions made last week singling out Hezbollah's communications network and its control over the airport.

Those decisions triggered street battles in what became the worst internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war.

'Our leaders say Lebanon's survival is a priority, but none believe or implement what they say,' said Shadan Maalouf.

'We want them to end their political squabble and rule this country and give peace and stability to our children,' she added.

The reopening of major roads around the capital and the Beriut International airport after a seven-day closure enabled the Lebanese to breath a sigh of relief.

'We were living in a siege and now we are free, the airport is our way out,' said Mouhnad Labban, who holds Canadian nationality and was heading to the airport to leave the country for good.

'I do not believe in the leaders of this country, if they go to Doha or not,' Labban said. 'I do not like to live under the mercy of leaders who do not think of their people.'

For a number of analysts, the six days of severe fighting might finally serve as a 'wake-up call' for the country's leaders if Lebanon is not once again to be plunged back into civil war.

'The violence last week was a wake-up call for all in Lebanon, that this democratic country would not longer exist if they do not find a way to sit and talk and settle their differences,' said political analyst Shafic al-Masri.

'Now our leaders are in for a hard test - the task of reassembling the pieces of a fractious country in a way that won't lead inevitably to a renewal of war,' he said.

'It will be a difficult task for the Arab committee who brokered the deal with the Lebanese leaders to go for dialogue again, because we all know the Lebanese problem is linked to international conflicts,' he added.

Another political analyst, Rami Khoury, commented that 'if they fail, Lebanon is is going to war, because right now its dangling between war and peace.'

Some analysts linked the Lebanese problem to a broader context of the so-called war on terrorism and a wave of radical Islam around the world.

Others saw the issue directly connected to the conflict between Syria and Iran, who back the Hezbollah-led opposition, and the US, which supports the Western-backed ruling majority.

Kamel Wazzani, a political analyst, said 'the oppositions' military gains dealt a blow to the United States, Saudi Arabia and other backers of the government and have forced the Lebanese government to rescind two decisions against Hezbollah, which the group had said amounted to a declaration of war.'

'It's also very clear that the balance of power here has shifted dramatically following the street battles that broke out in Beirut last week,' Wazzani said. 'There are winners and losers - and the winners do not include the White House.'