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| Syrian Tensions Spill Into a City in Southern Lebanon | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — Violent sectarian spillover from the Syrian conflict reached across southern Lebanon on Tuesday, with armed clashes by rival groups of Sunni and Shiite militia members in the Mediterranean port of Sidon that left at least two people dead and forced the Lebanese Army to seal off the area. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — Violent sectarian spillover from the Syrian conflict reached across southern Lebanon on Tuesday, with armed clashes by rival groups of Sunni and Shiite militia members in the Mediterranean port of Sidon that left at least two people dead and forced the Lebanese Army to seal off the area. |
| It was one of the most serious outbreaks of mayhem in Sidon, a mostly Sunni city whose population largely sympathizes with the Sunni-led insurgency in Syria and has grown increasingly angry with members and sympathizers of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite militant organization that is fighting on the Syrian government’s side. | It was one of the most serious outbreaks of mayhem in Sidon, a mostly Sunni city whose population largely sympathizes with the Sunni-led insurgency in Syria and has grown increasingly angry with members and sympathizers of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite militant organization that is fighting on the Syrian government’s side. |
| The Sidon tensions underscored the fragility of Lebanon’s patchwork of sects, which has further weakened because of the conflict in Syria and has raised the risk of destabilizing the country and the broader Middle East. | The Sidon tensions underscored the fragility of Lebanon’s patchwork of sects, which has further weakened because of the conflict in Syria and has raised the risk of destabilizing the country and the broader Middle East. |
| The tensions accelerated markedly this month after Hezbollah fighters entered Syria in large numbers and helped the government of President Bashar al-Assad successfully rout Sunni rebels from an important border city, Qusayr, which the insurgency had used for supplies and coordination. The Qusayr defeat is considered a potential turning point in the 27-month-old Syria conflict and has emboldened Mr. Assad’s forces to attack other rebel-held areas. | The tensions accelerated markedly this month after Hezbollah fighters entered Syria in large numbers and helped the government of President Bashar al-Assad successfully rout Sunni rebels from an important border city, Qusayr, which the insurgency had used for supplies and coordination. The Qusayr defeat is considered a potential turning point in the 27-month-old Syria conflict and has emboldened Mr. Assad’s forces to attack other rebel-held areas. |
| Lebanese news agencies said the Sidon clash had pitted fighters loyal to a militant Sunni cleric, Sheik Ahmad al-Assir, who has called for holy war against Mr. Assad, against armed members of Hezbollah occupying buildings in the Abra district of Sidon, which Sheik Assir’s loyalists have historically controlled. | Lebanese news agencies said the Sidon clash had pitted fighters loyal to a militant Sunni cleric, Sheik Ahmad al-Assir, who has called for holy war against Mr. Assad, against armed members of Hezbollah occupying buildings in the Abra district of Sidon, which Sheik Assir’s loyalists have historically controlled. |
| The sheik accused the Hezbollah fighters of provoking the Sidon fight by attacking a water truck belonging to his brother, and the anger escalated from there. Automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades were fired in the clashes, which appeared to be the most serious in Sidon in months. | The sheik accused the Hezbollah fighters of provoking the Sidon fight by attacking a water truck belonging to his brother, and the anger escalated from there. Automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades were fired in the clashes, which appeared to be the most serious in Sidon in months. |
| “We will not remain silent over this criminal act,” the sheik was quoted as saying by Lebanon’s National News Agency. A Sidon lawmaker, Bahiya Hariri, exhorted the authorities in Beirut to deploy the army and security forces to restore stability in the city. The news agency later reported, “Lebanese Army units are currently deploying in Abra and its vicinity in eastern Sidon to curb armed manifestations.” | “We will not remain silent over this criminal act,” the sheik was quoted as saying by Lebanon’s National News Agency. A Sidon lawmaker, Bahiya Hariri, exhorted the authorities in Beirut to deploy the army and security forces to restore stability in the city. The news agency later reported, “Lebanese Army units are currently deploying in Abra and its vicinity in eastern Sidon to curb armed manifestations.” |
| The Web site of Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper quoted security sources as saying at least two people were killed in Sidon. | The Web site of Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper quoted security sources as saying at least two people were killed in Sidon. |
| In another sign of the Syrian conflict’s ravaging effects, the medical relief group Doctors Without Borders reported that a measles epidemic was sweeping through the country's rebel-held north, a consequences of the collapse of the public health system. It reported at least 7,000 cases of measles, a malady that poses great risks to children and that in other circumstances could have been easily avoided. | In another sign of the Syrian conflict’s ravaging effects, the medical relief group Doctors Without Borders reported that a measles epidemic was sweeping through the country's rebel-held north, a consequences of the collapse of the public health system. It reported at least 7,000 cases of measles, a malady that poses great risks to children and that in other circumstances could have been easily avoided. |
| “Carrying out a vaccination campaign in a polarized conflict such as this one is proving extremely difficult,” the emergency manager of the group, Teresa Sancristóval, said in a news release. It said many people had avoided assembling for vaccinations “for fear they might attract airstrikes or rocket attacks.” | “Carrying out a vaccination campaign in a polarized conflict such as this one is proving extremely difficult,” the emergency manager of the group, Teresa Sancristóval, said in a news release. It said many people had avoided assembling for vaccinations “for fear they might attract airstrikes or rocket attacks.” |
Hania Mourtada reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. | Hania Mourtada reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. |