Grenade Explodes as Kabbara Inspects Syria Street, 3 Hurt in Renewed Shelling
Shelling between the rival Tripoli neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen on Friday left three people wounded, a security official and hospital sources told Agence France Presse.
The security official said at least four shells and grenades fell on the two districts in early evening.
Earlier on Friday, a hand grenade was tossed at Syria Street as Mustaqbal bloc MP Mohammed Kabbara was touring the area, amid a state of panic among citizens and reports of re-erecting barricades in the two rival district.
And as OTV reported a “limited clash in Syria Street,” MTV said another grenade was hurled at the Souk al-Qameh district.
For its part al-Manar television said an Energa-type anti-tank grenade was fired at Jabal Mohsen’s al-Saydeh neighborhood.
LBC television said three people were wounded as an Energa grenade fell on al-Kwaa uphill in Jabal Mohsen, noting that the grenade that targeted Syria Street was hurled from Jabal Mohsen.
Meanwhile, the army reinforced its presence by staging patrols and erecting checkpoints in the area, according to state-run National News Agency.
Intermittent yet fierce clashes in the area over the past week have left 10 people dead and more than 100 wounded, sparking fears that the revolt sweeping Syria since March of last year could engulf Lebanon.
Battles first erupted on Saturday between residents of the rival neighborhoods when General Security agents arrested Shadi al-Mawlawi, a Salafist, on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization. Mawlawi's supporters say he was targeted because of his help for Syrian refugees fleeing to Lebanon.
Tension between the Sunni and Alawite communities in Tripoli has been fueled by the uprising in Syria and the arrival in the area of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing the violence in their country.
Prime Minister Najib Miqati, who hails from Tripoli, warned at a cabinet meeting this week that the "fire was smoldering under the ashes" in the northern city.
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.
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