LEBANON: Fighting rages in Tripoli; Beirut holds funerals for those killed in clashes

Record ID: 374791

  • Title: LEBANON: Fighting rages in Tripoli; Beirut holds funerals for those killed in clashes
  • Date: 11th May 2008
  • Summary: (BN08) BEIRUT, LEBANON (MAY 11, 2008) (REUTERS) AIRPORT RUNWAY SOLDIERS AT AIRPORT ENTRANCE HEAP OF EARTH BLOCKING AIRPORT ROAD
  • Embargoed: 26th May 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Reuters ID: LVABW3O6P70MJDYDB16HLL4BUYCJ
  • Story Text: Lebanese troops patrolled Beirut on Sunday (May 11) after Hezbollah fighters pulled back from areas they had seized in deadly gunbattles with supporters of the U.S.-backed government.
    While calm was restored in Beirut, clashes raged overnight and Sunday morning in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, between pro- and anti-government gunmen.
    Security sources said there had been an unspecified number of casualties. Witnesses said the army had moved into the area to stop the fighting.
    Lebanese troops patrolled Beirut on Sunday (May 11) after Hezbollah fighters pulled back from areas they had seized in deadly gunbattles with supporters of the U.S.-backed government.
    Police put the toll of five days of fighting in Beirut and other areas at 44 dead and 128 wounded.
    On Sunday, residents of Beirut held funerals for their dead as the army spread its control over the capital that had been controlled by Hezbollah gunmen a day earlier.
    In Tarik al-Jadeedeh, angry residents held a funeral for one of two men killed in a shooting at a funeral procession a day earlier. Women sobbed and wailed while youths fired shots in the air as a sign of grief.
    Resident's of Beirut's Caracas district also held funerals for two men killed.
    But fighting raged overnight between pro- and anti-government gunmen in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city. Security sources said at least two people were killed and five were wounded in the fighting. Media said fighting has eased after the army moved into the area of fighting.
    In Beirut, hundreds of soldiers backed by armoured vehicles set up roadblocks and took up positions on the streets of the mainly Muslim part of the capital. There were no gunmen in sight but youths maintained barricades on some crucial roads, ensuring Beirut's air and sea ports remained closed.
    Hezbollah, a political group backed by Iran and Syria with a guerrilla army, said on Saturday it was ending its armed presence in Beirut after the army overturned government decisions against it.
    While tensions have eased slightly in Beirut, there was little progress in efforts to resolve the core political disputes that have plunged Lebanon into its worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
    The Hezbollah-led opposition said it would maintain a "civil disobedience" campaign until all of its demands were met.
    The fighting erupted on Wednesday (May 7) after the government said it was taking action against Hezbollah's military communications network and sacked the head of security at Beirut airport, who is close to the group.
    Hezbollah called the move against its communications a declaration of war, saying the network had played a crucial role in its 34-day war with Israel in 2006.
    The United States, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist group, a threat to Israel and a weapon in the hands of its arch-foe Iran, welcomed the end of the fighting.
    Lebanon has been in political deadlock for 18 months over opposition demands for a greater say in government.
    Much of the fighting has been between supporters of Sunni Muslim Saad al-Hariri, leader of the governing coalition, and Shi'ite gunmen loyal to the opposition.
    Hariri's supporters still control areas in the north of the country where they have taken over several offices of opposition groups, and have kept a key crossing point with Syria shut.
    Hariri is a son of the late Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, whose assassination three years ago triggered pressure on Syria to withdraw troops from Lebanon.
    The governing coalition accuses Hezbollah of seeking to restore Syria's influence. The group's show of military might has also alarmed the West and its Sunni Arab allies who fear Iran's growing influence in the region.
    Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, whose legitimacy is disputed by the opposition, on Saturday handed responsibility for the moves against Hezbollah to the army, which has sought to avoid conflict with either side.
    Saudi Arabia and Egypt called for an Arab foreign ministers' meeting on Sunday.
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