This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19340754#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Deadly fighting over Syria grips north Lebanon | Deadly fighting over Syria grips north Lebanon |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Seven people have been killed and more than 70 wounded after fighting in northern Lebanon between two Muslim communities divided over Syria. | Seven people have been killed and more than 70 wounded after fighting in northern Lebanon between two Muslim communities divided over Syria. |
| Street battles between Sunnis and Alawites in the city of Tripoli continued for a second night running. | Street battles between Sunnis and Alawites in the city of Tripoli continued for a second night running. |
| Old rivalry between the two groups has been fuelled by conflicting loyalties in the conflict across the border. | Old rivalry between the two groups has been fuelled by conflicting loyalties in the conflict across the border. |
| Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, is battling largely Sunni opposition fighters. | Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, is battling largely Sunni opposition fighters. |
| Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, himself a Sunni, appealed to both sides to end the "absurd battle" rocking Tripoli, a city of nearly 200,000 people and the country's second-largest. | Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, himself a Sunni, appealed to both sides to end the "absurd battle" rocking Tripoli, a city of nearly 200,000 people and the country's second-largest. |
| "We have repeatedly warned against being drawn into this blaze that has spread around Lebanon," he said, speaking of the violence in Syria. | "We have repeatedly warned against being drawn into this blaze that has spread around Lebanon," he said, speaking of the violence in Syria. |
| He urged Tripoli residents "not to allow anyone to transform you into ammunition for someone else's war". | He urged Tripoli residents "not to allow anyone to transform you into ammunition for someone else's war". |
| Intense clashes | |
| Gunmen in the Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbana and Alawites in Jabal Muhsin exchanged gun and grenade fire overnight, residents were quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. | Gunmen in the Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbana and Alawites in Jabal Muhsin exchanged gun and grenade fire overnight, residents were quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. |
| Two men killed were identified as residents of Jabal Muhsin, which overlooks a predominantly Sunni area where five people died, medical sources told the agency. | Two men killed were identified as residents of Jabal Muhsin, which overlooks a predominantly Sunni area where five people died, medical sources told the agency. |
| A resident of the city, Ghaddi Sary, told the BBC's Newsday programme that the authorities had failed to restore order. | |
| "It has gone a little bit quiet this morning but this is mainly due to the fact that they have been going at it all night," he said. | |
| "So far no signs of the conflict letting go and the army still failing to intervene. I mean they tried to deploy troops yesterday but it was forced to evacuate when some of its soldiers came under attack leaving nine wounded including an officer." | |
| Tripoli is one of Lebanon's most volatile sectarian faultlines, with a small Alawite community living in the midst of a Sunni majority, the BBC's Barbara Plett reports from the capital, Beirut. | Tripoli is one of Lebanon's most volatile sectarian faultlines, with a small Alawite community living in the midst of a Sunni majority, the BBC's Barbara Plett reports from the capital, Beirut. |
| Violence flared several times recently but locals say the last two days of clashes have been particularly intense, our correspondent says. | Violence flared several times recently but locals say the last two days of clashes have been particularly intense, our correspondent says. |
| One witness said heavier weapons were being used, and over a larger area than normal. | One witness said heavier weapons were being used, and over a larger area than normal. |
| Dangerous divisions | |
| Government policy has been to try to disassociate the country from the Syrian crisis, amid concern that it might re-ignite the divisions that fuelled Lebanon's own 15-year civil war, our correspondent adds. | Government policy has been to try to disassociate the country from the Syrian crisis, amid concern that it might re-ignite the divisions that fuelled Lebanon's own 15-year civil war, our correspondent adds. |
| But the more sectarian the violence becomes in Syria, the harder it is to prevent it from seeping across the border, she says. | But the more sectarian the violence becomes in Syria, the harder it is to prevent it from seeping across the border, she says. |
| Syria was the dominant foreign power in Lebanon for some 30 years and attitudes to the conflict which erupted there last year colour Lebanese politics beyond Tripoli. | |
| Last week, a Lebanese Shia Muslim clan kidnapped dozens of Sunni Muslims in retaliation for the abduction of a Lebanese Shia man by rebels inside Syria. | |
| The rebels had accused the man, Hassan al-Mekdad, of being a member of the powerful Shia militant group Hezbollah who had entered the country to fight for the Assad government. | |
| However, Hezbollah has denied any connection with the clan member or the kidnappings. | |
| Unconfirmed reports speak of a new government military operation in Syria's second city, Aleppo, on Wednesday morning. | |
| According to a count by the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 198 people were killed in fighting in Syria on Tuesday. The figure could not be verified independently. |