Sectarian Clashes Kill 3, Wound 30 in Northern Lebanon

Lebanese officials say fighting between pro-government supporters and their rivals has killed three people and wounded at least 30 others in the country’s second largest city.

Machine-gun fire and explosives woke residents of the northern city of Tripoli before dawn Sunday. It is not clear what sparked the clashes between pro-government Sunnis and Alawite fighters who support the Shi’ite Hezbollah opposition movement.

Government soldiers have been deployed to the area, and local leaders have held talks to try to contain the conflict.

Similar sectarian street fighting threatened to push Lebanon back into a civil war last month. But the Arab League brokered a deal to end the fighting and Lebanon’s 18-month-long political crisis.

Under the deal, a 30-member Cabinet would give the Hezbollah-led opposition veto power over government decisions. Efforts by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to form a unity cabinet with members of the opposition have yet to be successful.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

by VOA News

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