11 killed in sectarian strife in Lebanon

Beirut, March 16 (IANS/EFE) At least 11 people were killed and 55 others wounded over the past three days in clashes between Sunnis and Shiites in the northern Lebanese coastal city of Tripoli, the official news agency ANN said Saturday.

Since Thursday the fighting has pitted residents of the rival districts of Bab el Tebaneh, with its Sunni majority that backs Syrian rebels, against Yabal Mohsen, mostly populated by Alawites, a sect to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs.

Streets remain almost empty in the conflicted areas, where schools, universities and stores are keeping their doors locked.

The Lebanese army, which has reinforced its presence in these areas, responds to gunfire shot for shot and has cut off some city streets and highways to protect the residents from snipers, who take the greatest number of victims.

Behind the tension in north Lebanon is the war in Syria, given that the population is divided between partisans and adversaries of the government in Damascus.

Since the start of the Syrian conflict in March 2011, security has deteriorated in Lebanon with the increase of sectarian combat, terrorist attacks and bombings along the border.

--IANS/EFE

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