TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Agencies)
At least five people were killed on Friday in heavy clashes between rival sectarian factions in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, medical sources said.
Another 40 were wounded by the fighting between gunmen from the Sunni Muslim Bab Tibbaneh and the Alawite Muslim Jabal Mohsen districts of Tripoli. Gunmen exchanged machinegun and grenade fire, forcing residents to flee.
Sectarian violence linked to Lebanon's political troubles has killed at least 18 people in the past two months in the predominantly Sunni city. A military source said Friday's casualties included a soldier who was seriously wounded.
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Fighting escalates The fighting escalated as automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades were used between the Sunni Bab el-Tabaneh district and the predominantly Alawite Jabal Mohsen neighborhood, the police officials said. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.
A rocket-propelled grenade hit an apartment building near the vegetable market setting it ablaze.Shopkeepers in the area kept their stores shut on Friday because of the unrest and people could be seen fleeing their homes near the battlefront, the correspondent said.
A cease-fire went into effect at 1 p.m. after mediation by the grand mufti of north Lebanon, Sheik Malek al-Shaar, who has acted as a mediator throughout the recent weeks of fighting.
But after a brief lull fighting broke out again, said residents of the city, located 50 miles north of Beirut. The police officials said three more people died in the afternoon fighting, including a policeman and two women, bringing the total to five people killed. |
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In-fighting The fighting has cast a shadow over a deal that ended a bitter political conflict between Lebanon's Sunni-led governing coalition and an opposition alliance led by Shiite Hezbollah, which is close to Alawite groups in Tripoli. The government has been struggling to draft a document outlining plans for its term in office amid disagreements with Hezbollah.
The rival alliances formed a national unity government on July 11 after weeks of wrangling over portfolios. But they are now at odds over the government's policy statement, with Hezbollah's weapons at the heart of the dispute.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, used its arms to impose its terms for an end to the political conflict in May by briefly taking over Beirut and routing supporters of the anti-Damascus governing coalition.
The Alawite faith is a small offshoot of Shiite Islam and its adherents are mostly based in Syria which is ruled by President Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite.
Their numbers are small in Lebanon but they gained some political influence during an era of Syrian dominance that came to an end in 2005 after international pressure forced Damascus to withdraw troops from the country. |
