Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

2 Lebanese Killed, 15 Injured in Beirut Clashes

May 21, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deadly gun battle in Beirut amid fears of Syria spillover

France 24, May 21, 2012, By Lucy FIELDER in Beirut (video) News Wires (text)

AP -

Street battles between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in the Lebanese capital killed two people overnight and wounded 15 as the spiraling conflict in neighboring Syria spilled across the border.

Some Beirut residents kept their children home from school following the fighting, which was among the worst the Lebanese capital has seen in four years. Gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns in battles that lasted more than four hours.

The streets were calmer Monday, but some shops remained closed.

The violence in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Tariq Jadidah erupted hours after an anti-Syrian cleric and his bodyguard were shot dead at a checkpoint in northern Lebanon, an incident that instantly spiked tensions.

Authorities braced for the possibility of more violence Monday in the north, where Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmed Abdul-Wahid and his bodyguard were to be buried. Gunmen carrying automatic rifles shouted for the downfall of the Syrian regime in the cleric’s hometown of Beireh, where he was to be buried later in the day.

The fighting underscores how the bloodshed in Syria, where President Bashar Assad’s regime is cracking down on an uprising against his rule, can fuel violence across the border in Lebanon.

Lebanon has a fragile political faultline precisely over the issue of Syria.

There is an array of die-hard pro-Syrian Lebanese parties and politicians, as well as support for the regime on the street level. There is an equally deep hatred of Assad among other Lebanese who fear Damascus is still calling the shots here. The two sides are the legacy of Syria’s virtual rule over Lebanon from 1976 to 2005 and its continued influence since.

On Monday, a gunman in Beireh shouted “Down with Bashar!” and said the Syrian leader was trying to “transfer the crisis to Lebanon.”

Lebanon and Syria share a complex web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries, which can easily turn violent. Last week, clashes sparked by the Syrian crisis killed at least eight people and wounded dozens in the northern city of Tripoli.

The revolt in Syria began 15 months ago, and there are fears the unrest will lead to a regional conflagration that could draw in neighboring countries. The U.N. estimates the conflict has killed more than 9,000 people since March 2011.

Syrian activists said regime forces killed dozens of people during a raid Sunday on the central town of Soran in Hama province, security officials said.

One activist group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, put the death toll at 39, citing a network of sources on the ground. Syria-based activist Mustafa Osso said the figure was more than 20.

The death toll could not be independently confirmed.

A video posted online by activists showed the bodies of five people said to be of the same family who were killed during the shelling of Soran.

Syria is a geographical linchpin in the Middle East, raising the possibility that the crisis there will bleed into other countries.

The circumstances surrounding Sunday’s shooting death of the Abdul-Wahid, the Sunni cleric, and his bodyguard remained unclear but the state-run National News Agency said they appeared to have been killed by soldiers after their convoy failed to stop at an army checkpoint.

The Lebanese army on Sunday issued a statement, saying it deeply regretted the incident and that a committee will investigate.

The clashes in Beirut subsided around 4 a.m. Monday after anti-Syrian gunmen took control of the headquarters of the pro-Syrian Arab Movement Party.

The fighting was among the most intense fighting in Beirut since May 2008, when gunmen from the Shiite Hezbollah militant group swept through Sunni neighborhoods after the pro-Western government tried to dismantle the group’s telecommunications network.

More than 80 people were killed in the 2008 violence, pushing the country to the brink of civil war.

Also Monday, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA, said Assad issued a presidential decree calling on the country’s newly elected parliament to hold its first meeting on Thursday. A parliament speaker is usually elected on the first meeting of a new parliament.

Assad has pointed to the parliamentary elections earlier this month as a sign of his long-promised reforms, but the opposition dismissed the vote as a sham meant to preserve his autocratic rule.

Death toll mounts in Lebanon as clashes erupt again

By Lucy FIELDER / Selim EL MEDDEB , correspondents in Lebanon (video)

France 24, May 21, 2012, News Wires (text)

AFP -

Fresh sectarian clashes erupted between pro- and anti-Syrian districts in the north Lebanon port city of Tripoli on Thursday, leaving one person dead and seven wounded, a security official said.

"Sporadic clashes involving the use of rockets and machineguns began at around 4:00 am (0100 GMT) between the neighbourhoods of Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen," said the official, who requested anonymity.

He identified the person killed as a teenager from Bab al-Tebbaneh.

The army, deployed in both neighbourhoods since Monday, withdrew slightly and fired into areas where the shooting was occurring, the official said.

By midday, the situation was calm although sporadic gunfire could be heard.

Jabal Mohsen is populated mainly by Alawites loyal to the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while residents of Bab al-Tebbaneh are mainly Sunni Muslims and support the opposition seeking to oust Assad.

Sectarian clashes between residents of the two districts earlier this week left nine people dead and some 50 wounded and sparked fears that the revolt in Syria could engulf its tiny neighbour.

The clashes broke out after the arrest of a Sunni Islamist on charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation.

His supporters say he was targeted for helping Syrian refugees fleeing the unrest in their country.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who hails from Tripoli, warned at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the "fire was smouldering under the ashes" in the port city, local media reported on Thursday.

"Anything that happens in Syria is important as it has repercussions in Lebanon," Mikati also noted earlier in the week, adding that he was working to prevent the country being sucked into the revolt next door.

Since the outbreak of the uprising against Assad in March 2011, Tripoli has become a safe haven for activists and thousands of refugees fleeing the unrest that has left more than 12,000 people dead, according to a rights group.

Sectarian violence has flared on a number of occasions in the city since the revolt broke out but the latest escalation has been the deadliest.

It reflects a deep split between Lebanon's political parties where the opposition backs those leading the revolt in Syria while a ruling coalition led by the powerful Shiite Hezbollah supports Assad's regime.

Rifaat Eid, head of the Lebanese Arab Democratic Party, which represents the Alawite sect in the country, suggested at a press conference Wednesday that if the situation escalates in Tripoli, the Syrian army should be called in to restore the peace.

The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs and which has controlled Syrian politics for decades.

Syria long held sway in Lebanon politics and had troops stationed in the country for 29 years until it was forced to withdraw them in 2005 following the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.

It has denied accusations that it was involved in his killing.

Lebanon halts ship with arms 'destined for Syria'

France 24, April 28, 2012, By News Wires (text)

REUTERS -

Lebanese authorities seized a large consignment of Libyan weapons including rocket-propelled grenades and heavy calibre ammunition from a ship intercepted in the Mediterranean, the army said on Saturday.

It did not say where the vessel was heading but the ship's owner told Reuters it was due to unload in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli.

The mainly Sunni Muslim city has seen regular protests in support of the 13-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria, and any arms shipped there could have been smuggled across the border to anti-Assad rebels.

The army said in a statement the weapons were found in three containers carried by the Sierra Leone-flagged Letfallah II, which was impounded along with its 11-man crew and taken to a navy port in Beirut.

Pictures released by the army showed dozens of crates inside the containers, some of them filled with belts of heavy ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades.

Labelling on one box said it contained fragmentation explosives, and several identified them as coming from Libya.

One was marked "Tripoli/Benghazi SPLAJ", referring to LIbya's formal name during the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi - the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Another was stamped Misrata, the Libyan town which formed a base for rebels who overthrew Gaddafi last year in one of several uprising which swept the Arab world.

Russia accused Libya in March of arming and training Syrian rebels. Libya's prime minister said he was unaware of training camps in his country but repeated Libya's strong support for Syrians "who are raising their voice asking for freedom".

Syrian authorities have repeatedly said weapons are being smuggled from neighbouring countries, including Lebanon, to arm rebels fighting Assad.

Ship owner Mohammad Khafaji said he was told the craft was carrying engine oil, and was unaware of any weapons. "The law doesn't allow me to open and inspect the containers," he said by telephone from Egypt.

Khafaji said a broker from Lebanon had made contact, asking originally for a shipment of 12 containers of "general cargo" to be shipped from Libya to Lebanon. In the end, after two days' delay, the ship left with just the three containers, he said.

It sailed to Turkey and then the Egyptian port of Alexandria before heading for Tripoli in Lebanon, but as it was completing formalities for docking there the crew was told to take the ship to another port, Selaata, to unload the cargo.

"After that we lost contact with the crew," he said.