BEIRUT & WASHINGTON - Eleven people were hurt in an overnight clash between followers of parliamentary leader Saad Hariri and opposition supporters in eastern Lebanon following a rally in Beirut, police said Thursday.

"Eleven people were injured, including a man who was wounded by gunshots," a police spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear to which camp the wounded belonged to.

Police said that the incident started when opposition supporters threw stones on Hariri supporters returning from Beirut following a massive rally to commemorate the second anniversary of the murder of his father, Rafiq Hariri.

Late Tuesday, Saad Hariri called for calm after his office said in a statement that some of his supporters had been stoned and insulted on their return to Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley.

Four people were killed and 150 others wounded when supporters of the Sunni Muslim leader clashed with Shiite opposition followers in Beirut last month, prompting fears of further confessional disputes.

Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush on Wednesday called for creating a special tribunal for Lebanon to punish those behind Hariri’s slaying two years ago.

"The United States joins the Lebanese people in demanding the truth behind Prime Minister Hariri's murder and calling for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for Lebanon to bring to justice those who murdered Rafiq Hairi and others who stood for Lebanese sovereignty and independence," he said.

Bush's statement, released by the White House, came as tens of thousands of Lebanese waving flags and balloons massed in the heart of Beirut on Wednesday to mark Hariri's murder, with security high after deadly bus bombings.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of yesterday's bus bombings outside Beirut. The evil perpetrators of these attacks will not silence the Lebanese people's demands for justice and democracy in an independent Lebanon," said Bush.

The anniversary commemorations came at a time of acute crisis in a country still riven by political and confessional divisions and destabilized by a wave of attacks against Damascus critics.

Lebanon's government has been paralyzed since November when six pro-Syrian ministers quit, triggering the launch of a Hezbollah-led campaign to oust the cabinet of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

"The Lebanese people's greatest tribute to Rafiq Hariri, Minister Basil Fuleihan, and others who gave their lives for a free Lebanon, would be to come together across sectarian divides to build the free, stable, and prosperous Lebanon that Prime Minister Rafik Hariri dedicated his life to create," said Bush.

The political feuding has arisen in part over the government's backing for a UN tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri killing, a move opposed by Syria and its allies in Lebanon.

"On the second anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the United States reaffirms its support for a free and democratic Lebanon that is able to chart its own course," said Bush.

In a separate statement, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Lebanese people "deserve to know the truth" about Hariri's murder.

"We encourage all parties to honor the memories of former Prime Minister Hariri and all others who have been targeted by such acts of terrorism in Lebanon, by resuming dialogue and pursuing peaceful means to resolve their differences," she said.