Two Wounded in Beirut Shootout as Tensions Escalate

Two people were wounded in a shootout in Beirut”s district of Sabra on Sunday, police and hospital officials

said.

 

It was not immediately clear who fired or what caused the clash near the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, but a police official said two people — a Palestinian and a Lebanese — were lightly wounded and taken to the nearby Makassed hospital.

 

The state-run National News Agency reported a shootout between a group of Palestinians and Lebanese, adding that army troops intervened to restore order. It gave no further details on the cause of the clash but said the gunmen fled to an unknown location.

Clashes have become common in recent weeks as tensions escalate between rival Lebanese camps and the country”s 15-month-old political crisis deepens.

 

But a police official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear whether Sunday”s clash had a political background.

 

After the Sunday violence, the military warned against more such clashes and pledged firm action.

 

“The army command warns of the dangerous situation and will act firmly against anyone who tries to destabilize security,” a military statement said.

 

A Shiite opposition protest over electricity cuts in south Beirut neighborhoods last month degenerated into a riot, prompting troops to open fire. Seven people were killed in that violence.

 

Picture: Lebanese soldiers take up position on a street in Beirut February 17, 2008. Lebanese soldiers deployed in several mixed Sunni-Shi”ite streets of Beirut on Saturday and ended sectarian riots that left at least 14 people injured and several cars and shops smashed. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON)