6 Killed, 40 Wounded as Efforts Fail to End Tripoli Clashes

     

Tripoli(Libanon)- Naharnet — Heavy armed clashes between pro- and anti-government supporters raged in the northern city of Tripoli Monday despite stepped up efforts to end the fighting which killed six people and wounded 40 others. News reports said a mortar shell fell in the heart of Tripoli, hitting the Grand Mansouri Mosque.

Intensified meetings that lasted well into Sunday night at the residence of Tripoli’s Sunni Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar failed to put an end to the fighting which broke out earlier in the day. Shaar called on the security forces to deploy in the embattled districts in force and respond firmly to any security violation.

Fighting erupted around 6 am Sunday two hours after unidentified assailants in Baal Mohsen, a predominantly Alawite district loyal to the Hizbullah-led opposition, hurled hand grenades at Bab al-Tabbaneh, a mainly Sunni Muslim area that backs MP Saad Hariri’s Mustaqbal Movement. Families representing Bab al-Tabbaneh reportedly did not attend the meetings at Shaar’s residence, arguing that their rivals possess unmatched arms power.

A gentleman’s agreement arrived at the Tripoli meetings failed to halt the violence and forced postponement of official exams in the embattled areas. The daily Al Hayat on Monday said Bab al-Tabbaneh families, who accused Syria of being behind the bloody fighting, demanded a halt to hostilities against their town. Meanwhile, the pro-government ruling majority accused Hizbullah of seeking to take revenge against Tripoli.

“Hizbullah is seeking to shift its battle — after invading Beirut — to the Bekaa, and now Tripoli’s turn has come,” MP Mohammed Kabbara said. The violence also came amid stalled efforts by Prime Minister-designate Fouad Saniora to form a new government following an agreement in Doha last month that ended an 18-month political crisis which nearly brought the country to civil war.

Fears have mounted in recent days that the security situation could deteriorate with clashes erupting in various parts of the country between supporters of the ruling majority and the opposition, which is backed by Syria and Iran.