Clashes broke out between pro- and anti-government factions in
Lebanon's northern town of Tripoli Wednesday, leaving two people
wounded, the local Naharnet news website reported.
A police source was quoted as saying that the firefight, in
which automatic rifles and hand grenades were used, broke out as
residents of the Tabbaneh district were taking part in the funeral
of Bilal al-Hayek, who was killed in similar clashes Tuesday.
Hayek was a member of the Mustaqbal movement, headed by
parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri.
The clashes broke out between residents of the Tabbaneh
district, who are mainly supporters of the Mustaqbal movement, and
gunmen in adjacent Baal Mohsen, a stronghold for the opposition
supporters, said the report.
On Tuesday, similar clashes broke out during the Hezbollah-led
opposition's general strike against the government, which,
according The Daily Star, left at least three dead and
over 130wounded.
Lebanese opposition forces on Tuesday blocked several main roads
in Beirut and in other parts of the country with burned tires as
the start of a general strike. The strike turned later into
violence and riots between anti- and pro-government supporters.
Lebanese opposition alliance launched an open-ended sit-in in
downtown Beirut on Dec. 1 to topple Fouad Seniora's government,
declaring the anti-Syrian cabinet illegitimate and demanding early
parliamentary elections and a new electoral law.
The Seniora government, backed by the March 14 parliamentary
majority coalition, had rejected such calls and accused the
Hezbollah-led protest of trying to obstruct the creation of an
international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes.
(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2007)
