Three killed in intense fighting in north Lebanon
At least three people were killed in fierce sectarian clashes in Lebanon”s northern port of Tripoli on Friday as fighters exchanged rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire, a security official said.
"Three people have been killed," the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that one of the dead was a woman and that another 22 people were wounded.
One of the wounded was caught in crossfire between fighters in the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tebbaneh district and the neighbouring largely Alawite area of Jabal Mohsen.
Another person was wounded by a sniper earlier on Friday, the security official said.
A rocket-propelled grenade slammed into an apartment building near a vegetable market, setting it ablaze after hours of sporadic sniper fire, an AFP correspondent said.
Another rocket hit a mosque in Bab al-Tebbaneh, the correspondent said.
Bab al-Tebbaneh is a stronghold of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority while the inhabitants of Jabal Mohsen are mainly supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah-led opposition.
The Sunni mufti of northern Lebanon, Malek al-Shaar, announced a ceasefire for 12:30 pm (0930 GMT) after a meeting of political and religious officials in Tripoli, but a correspondent said sniper fire was continuing.
Lebanon”s official news agency said the ceasefire announcement came after a telephone conversation between Shaar and the political leader of the Alawite Arab Democratic Party, Rifaat Eid.
Shopkeepers in the area kept their stores shut on Friday because of the violence and people were seen fleeing their homes near the front lines, the correspondent said.
Loudspeakers urged people to stay where they were and not make their way to mosques for Friday prayers, as is customary, because of the fighting.
"Our home is in a dangerous area," said Ali al-Shaykh, a father of seven.
"We left our home at three in the morning and now we”re sheltering in a mosque with about 70 other families," he added.
Families who stayed behind took cover inside shops and underground garages as hundreds of gunmen took to the streets in full sight of the army which stood by without intervening, the correspondent added.
"The army is present and reinforcements are on their way," an army spokesman told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
"The army cannot intervene and use force because the neighbourhoods are densely populated. The shooting is from inside buildings and we cannot use our artillery because civilians could get killed or wounded," he added.
Three grenades also exploded overnight on Thursday in Tripoli despite the reinforced army presence.
Soldiers deployed in force in the city in mid-July, pledging a tough response to any breach of security.
Repeated clashes between the two areas have left 14 people dead and more than 100 wounded since June.
Alawites are a offshoot of Shiite Islam who revere Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed.
Majority MP and former sports minister Ahmed Fatfat said in a statement that "every time a sectarian rift breaks out in the north, it is used for political pressure… weapons are being used as a way of making political gains."
The latest fighting comes after the newly formed cabinet hit snags in deliberations aimed at drawing up a policy agenda ahead of a parliamentary vote of confidence which would enable the government to be officially installed.
The cabinet decided on Thursday night to postpone talks on the issue of Hezbollah”s arms.