Fierce battles raged in northern Lebanon between rival clans on Sunday leaving at least one person dead even as the Hezbollah-led opposition handed control of the capital Beirut to the army. The firefights which erupted overnight were concentrated in the densely populated Bab al-Tebbaneh, Kobbeh and Jabal Mohsen neighbourhoods on the northern edge of the coastal city.
A security official said the fighting in the country's second city of Tripoli was between Sunni supporters of the Western-backed government and members of an Alawite sect loyal to Hezbollah, which is backed by both Syria and Iran. He added that thousands of people were fleeing the clashes and that at least two people had been wounded. "About 7,000 people have fled from Bab al-Tebbaneh, which marks the frontlines, because of the battles," he said.
Residents of Tripoli reported heavy machine-gun fire and the thump of exploding rocket-propelled grenades, an AFP correspondent said.
Bab al-Tebbaneh and Kobbeh are Sunni districts while Jabal Mohsen is mainly Alawite.
Alawites are a secretive offshoot of Shiite Islam who revere Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government has been accused of backing Hezbollah, is an Alawite.
The battle in the north came despite Saturday's return to an uneasy calm in the capital Beirut, the scene of four days of fierce sectarian fighting between mainly Sunni supporters of the ruling bloc and Shiite opposition militias. |