2 dead, 33 wounded in Lebanon clashes

CLASHES CONTINUE: Two people have been shot dead and at least 33 others wounded in fighting between rival factions in Lebanon. (Getty Images)

Two people were killed, including a policeman, and at least 33 others wounded in northern Lebanon on Sunday in clashes between armed opponents and supporters of the parliamentary majority.

Policeman Samer Rashid was hit by a stray bullet inside his home in the Al-Qobbe district of the northern port city of Tripoli, a security official said.

Another man, Bourhane Al-Khatib, died after being hit by a bullet in the heart during clashes at Jabal Mohsen, said a medic after the 22-year-old was taken to a hospital in the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi.

According to a security official, many of those wounded were caught in the crossfire and hit by stray bullets while inside their homes.

As calm was restored in the afternoon, representatives of the feuding parties met in Tripoli and agreed on the army taking charge of security and for gunmen to keep off the streets, said a participant who declined to be named.

Education Minister Khaled Kabbani said end-of-year exams would take place as scheduled in Tripoli's schools on Monday.

The fighting broke out at 4:15 am (0115 GMT) in Bab Al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, northern districts of Tripoli, a security official told newswire AFP.

He said pro-majority Sunni militants fought with a group of Alawites, a dissident branch of Shi'ism which however supports the Shi'ite opposition movement Hezbollah.

The fighting spread to Al-Qobbe in eastern Tripoli where an AFP correspondent said families were seen fleeing the area.

At least 27 people were wounded in Bab Al-Tebbaneh and Al-Qobbe and were taken to the Islamic Hospital of Tripoli, a security official said. One had a severe wound to the head.

Bab Al-Tebbaneh and Al-Qobbe are mainly Sunni districts while residents of Jabal Mohsen are predominantly Alawite.

A military spokesman told AFP that "the army is still deployed in the zone which separates the two sides and has not altered its position".

"The fighting has eased in intensity and we are working to contain it," the spokesman added, even as armed militiamen could still be seen on street corners leading to Bab Al-Tebbaneh.

"We took part in this battle to defend ourselves," one fighter told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Similar clashes occurred in various regions in May when 65 people were killed, stoking fears that Lebanon, which endured 15 years of civil war up to 1990, was heading for a new conflict.

An accord reached in the Qatari capital, Doha, on May 21 between the opposition and government ended an 18-month-long political crisis which sparked the clashes.

The agreement resulted in the election of Michel Sleiman as president, ending a six-month vacuum in the top job.

But tensions have remained high and last Tuesday three people were killed in clashes betwen pro- and anti-government residents in two villages in the Bekaa area of eastern Lebanon.

Sunday's clashes occurred amid continuing failure to form a national unity government as envisaged under the Doha agreement.

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