LEBANON: Clashes between supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Muslim fighters enter a third day in northern city of Tripoli

Record ID: 375566

  • Title: LEBANON: Clashes between supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Muslim fighters enter a third day in northern city of Tripoli
  • Date: 15th May 2012
  • Summary: TRIPOLI, LEBANON (MAY 14, 2012) (REUTERS) BUILDINGS IN BAB AL-TABBANEH AREA WHERE SUNNI MILITANTS ARE FIGHTING ALAWITES IN ADJACENT JABAL MOHSEN MORE OF BAB AL-TABBANEH BULLET DAMAGED WALL AND WINDOW STREET AND SOUND OF GUNFIRE GUNMAN FIRING FROM BEHIND STREET CORNER GUNMAN FIRING FROM ROOFTOP WATER SPILLING FROM BULLET HOLES IN TANK ON ROOFTOP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic
  • Embargoed: 30th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAD6FFWPK9JI47VU9VNF8R613S7
  • Story Text: A further two were killed and at least 20 were wounded as clashes between Alawite supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Muslim fighters in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, continued into Monday (May 14), medical sources said.
    Fierce clashes overnight shook the northern port city and sporadic fighting continued on Monday morning, with fighters firing machineguns and rocket propelled grenades.
    Tension between the Alawite and Sunni communities in Tripoli has been fuelled by the unrest in neighbouring Syria, where Assad is seeking to crush a 14-month-old uprising which began with largely peaceful protests but has become increasingly militarised.
    Assad is from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, while Syria's revolt has been led by Syria's majority Sunni Muslims.
    A small Alawite minority is concentrated in Tripoli, a conservative Sunni city where many residents have been enraged by the Syrian government's crackdown on the mainly Sunni revolt.
    Clashes began late on Saturday (May 12), and three people were killed over the weekend in the city's Alawite enclave and surrounding Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods.
    Many residents of the Sunni neighbourhood Bab al-Tabbaneh - where Sunni Muslims have clashed with Alawites in neighbouring Jabal Mohsen - are afraid to venture outside because of the fighting and have urged the Lebanese government to intervene.
    "We have called for and still call for this government that is distancing itself so far to get involved and stop those criminals in Jabal Mohsen, the followers of [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad, and to send the army in to control the situation," said Sunni Cleric Sheikh Bilal al-Masri.
    "We are thrown out of our homes like dogs hiding and no one is asking what is happening to us. Their [Lebanese politicians] own children are safe but our children, God knows where they are. I have a son and I have no idea where he is," said another unidentified resident of Bab al-Tabbaneh.
    The fighting in Tripoli, 70 km (43 miles) from Beirut, highlights how sectarian tensions in Syria can ignite conflict in Lebanon. Buildings in the area are still riddled with bullet holes from similar clashes earlier in the year.
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