The death toll in fierce clashes between government supporters and opponents in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Wednesday rose to five, with 64 others injured, local Al-Anwar daily reported Thursday.
The Lebanese army is carrying a redeployment plan in the north early Thursday to separate Alawite fighters in Baal Mohsen from Sunni fighters in Bab Tabbaneh, the report said.
Sources in Tripoli said the army maintained its deployment in Bab Tabbaneh, and some of its troops have been hit by sniper fire form Baal Mohsen.
The fighting erupted on Wednesday after four grenades were fired at a street separating the Sunni Bab Tabbaneh district and Alawite Baal Mohsen district.
Explosions and machine-gun fire raged Tripoli as Sunni supporters of the government and Alawite gunmen close to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah-led opposition battled on the outskirts of the second largest port city of Lebanon.
Meanwhile, tension is mounting overnight in western Beirut districts of Qasqas and Tariq Jedideh, where residents set rubber tiers on fire and blocked traffic to protest against the beating up of two majority partisans by opposition Amal members, the report said.
Fierce clashes erupted in the country in May, but an agreement reached between feuding Lebanese factions in Doha on May 21 banned the use of arms to settle political differences.
The Arab League-brokered agreement between the Western-backed majority and the opposition put an end to Lebanon's long political deadlock that nearly dragged the country into a civil war.
But delays in the formation of a national unity government in line with the Doha accord have raised fears of a further security deterioration.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article