Armed Assad supporters and opponents clash in Lebanon

[Proudgrandson]

There has been heavy gunfire in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, as supporters and opponents of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad took to the streets.


Rocket-propelled grenades were also fired and a bystander was injured by a stray round, officials said.


Prime Minister Najib Mikati told the army to "take necessary measures to halt" the events in the northern port.


The violence erupted after hundreds of people attended an anti-Assad demonstration after Friday prayers.


Residents said the RPGs were fired from the Sunni Muslim district of Bab al-Tabbana towards the Alawite district of Jabal Muhsin.

Continues here...... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16989939

[themacedonian]

Is it a clash or armed Sunni muslims attacked the other side?

[OrangeWolf]

They have been doing this for decades. When something bad happens it just fires up again. The Alawites in Tripoli largely support the Assad regime. The Sunni's suffered the same indiscriminate violence by the Syrian regime targeted against civilians as what the regime is doing right now, so there's a lot of sympathy. It was bound to happen.

Also there's frustration about the Lebanese military who would not deploy to the North to stop Syrian violations of Lebanon's territory. Syrian soldiers looked for opposition members and they killed Lebanese civilians. However when some pro-Syrian puppets inside Lebanon started to complain about the smuggling of supplies to the Syrian opposition the army did deploy. Since the majority of Tripoli is with the March 14 alliance (the Lebanese opposition), they are against the Syrian regime.

[IconOfEvi]

Remember mace, most of Lebanon does not like the Syrians. They remember the occupation...

However, their time there also earned them supporters, networks, contacts, as any occupation does, even such a deadly and chaotic one like Lebanon's.

[Captain Ernie]

because of sunni/shiite? oh boy...

[C.MAC.122]

£5 on the Arab world heating up to such an extent you can see the flames from London....

It always was going to spread beyond Syria this unrest but I can't help but feel that it presents a real chance of complete meltdown in some areas of the middle east when the idea of resistance becomes Sunni vs Shia.