LEBANON: Clashes intensify between Alawites and Sunnis in Tripoli

Record ID: 375570

  • Title: LEBANON: Clashes intensify between Alawites and Sunnis in Tripoli
  • Date: 15th May 2012
  • Summary: RESIDENTS BEING EVACUATED
  • Embargoed: 30th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Conflict,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1L2L7KOTPR14VLW22G1XGIFWJ
  • Story Text: Two men were killed and at least 20 people were wounded in clashes between Alawite supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Muslims in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, medical sources said on Monday (May 14).
    Fierce clashes overnight shook the northern port city and sporadic fighting continued on Monday. Machine-guns and rocket propelled grenades were used.
    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 against his rule 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 the 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.
    Clashes began late on Saturday and three people were killed at the weekend in the city's Alawite enclave in Jabal Mohsen and surrounding Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods, including Bab al-Tabbaneh.
    "We are here to defend ourselves because our government and its forces have stopped carrying out their role of protecting people," said Sunni fighter Mohamad Khalaf.
    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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