Sunni-Alawis clashes kill two in Lebanon

Clashes between Sunnis and Alawis leave two dead in Lebanon Two people died and 18 were wounded during fierce clashes on Saturday between Lebanese Sunni Muslims hostile to Syria’s regime and Alawis who support it, a Lebanese security official said .
“A Sunni and an Alawite were killed and 18 people were wounded in clashes that continued since Friday between people from the neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tebbaneh,” in the northern city of Tripoli, the official told AFP.
The two sides were firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades at each other in the clashes, the bloodiest since last June when six people were killed in the wake of demonstrations against the Syrian government.
Sunni-majority Tripoli has in the past few years been the scene of intense clashes between Sunni supporters of the anti-Syrian opposition and Alawi Muslims loyal to a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Iran and Syria.
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, who is fighting an unprecedented revolt against his regime, hails from the Alawi community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Earlier on Saturday, Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reported that two Lebanese Army soldiers were wounded in renewed clashes in north Lebanon.
The Daily Star quoted two sources as saying that the Lebanese Army has been ordered to arrest on sight anyone carrying weapons and patrols, both on foot and in military vehicles, are ongoing in the Bab Al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen areas.
Short bursts of fire could still be heard in the area.
Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani described Saturday the ongoing clashes in Tripoli as worrisome and as an attempt to incite strife.
"He urged the Lebanese Army to swiftly place the area under its control and put an end to the violence in a bid to strengthen civil peace and national unity," Qabbani’s press office quoted him as saying Saturday, the Daily Star reported.
Qabbani also warned against similar security breaches which he said could he believes could reflect negatively on Lebanon’ situation.
Friday’s clashes, which included the use of rocket-propelled grenades, came after midday prayers when 700 people marched from a mosque in Tripoli and demonstrated in the city center against the Syrian government.
Seven people were wounded Friday in the fighting, including three soldiers, when the Lebanese Army tried to restore order in the area.
The clashes raise fresh concerns about unrest spilling over into Lebanon as violence and turmoil continue to destabilize Syria.
In a separate incident Saturday morning, one person was killed after an arms depot exploded near the area of Qibbeh. Two other people were injured. The depot is at a privately-owned farm.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani described the ongoing clashes in Tripoli as worrisome and as an attempt to incite strife.
"He urged the Lebanese Army to swiftly place the area under its control and put an end to the violence in a bid to strengthen civil peace and national unity," Qabbani’s press office quoted him as saying Saturday.
According to the Daily Star, he also warned against similar security breaches which he said could he believes could reflect negatively on Lebanon’ situation.
The news came after an explosion ripped through an area in the Lebanese northern port city of Tripoli late on Friday, spreading chaos after clashes broke out in the city as gunmen deployed heavily in two rival neighbourhoods , one group supporting and the other opposing the regime in Syria, according to security sources.
The blast occurred in the evening near Al-Jinan University of Tripoli, the National News Agency reported. "Explosions were heard and a huge fire erupted in the area,” the report said, adding that it “may be due to the explosion of an arms’ depot.”
Initial reports claimed several people were injured.
Earlier in the day, two soldiers and one passerby were injured when rival factions from the Sunni neighbourhoods of Bab Al-Tebbaneh and Alawi of Jebal Mohsen of Tripoli fired rocket-propelled grenades at each other, according to security sources.
The sources told ‘Arabstoday’: “There is a heavy armed presence in the Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods of Bab Al-Tabbaneh and Alawite of Jabal Mohsen,” adding that one person driving by was injured in the gunfire as well.
According to eyewitnesses, the clashes continued until Friday evening despite the army had deployed in both neighbourhoods earlier in the day.
The Lebanese army said in a statement issued on Friday that three soldiers suffered from “minor injuries” after the clashes.
“During the gunfire between Jabal Mohsen and Bab Al-Tabbaneh, army forces intervened, responded to the fire and raided the places of the people shooting and patrolled [Tripoli’s] Syria street.”
The army also said that some of the perpetrators of Friday’s clashes were arrested, adding that some weapons were confiscated.
“Army units continue to strengthen their security measures and arrest the rest of the perpetrators.”
The statement added that the situation is “calm and normal” in all Tripoli areas.
The Sunni-majority coastal city has in the past few years been the scene of intense clashes between Sunni supporters of the anti-Syrian opposition and Alawite Muslims loyal to a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Iran and Syria.
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman on Friday called on the security and military forces to act “decisively with those tampering with security and civil peace” in North Lebanon, particularly in Tripoli’s Jabal Mohsen and Bab Al-Tabbaneh, the National News Agency reported.
The President also said it was important that residents in Tripoli follow the army and security forces’ instructions “in order to maintain security, stability and unity.”
In addition, the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is currently in France, contacted Lebanese Army Commander Jean Kahwaji on Friday and requested he take the “appropriate measures” to restore calm in Tripoli, the National News Agency reported.