Post by Janjoon-Lebanese on Dec 5, 2006 10:51:02 GMT -5
Army Steps In to Defuse Renewed Shiite-Sunni Fighting
05-12-06
BY: NAHARNET
Hundreds of army troops in armored vehicles stepped in, firing warning shots in the air to break up renewed clashes late Monday between government supporters and protestors vowing to topple Premier Fouad Saniora's cabinet.
About 300 angry protestors also blocked the Beirut airport highway after midnight, but the Lebanese army intervened and opened the road.
Fighting broke out in several predominantly Sunni neighborhoods after nightfall Monday as the body of Ali Ahmed Mahmoud who was killed in a similar street fight the day before was brought by ambulance to downtown Beirut, where thousands of Hizbullah-led protestors were camping for the fourth straight night demanding to overthrow Saniora's government.
Shiite leaders urged Mahmoud's family to avoid revenge, fearing sectarian violence that could detonate Lebanon's political crisis.
Soldiers already deployed in Beirut went into action after riot police were overwhelmed by protestors who invaded one of the Sunni n
Calm was restored after an hour of unrest, which followed a day of tension after 20-year-old Mahmoud, a Shiite, was killed on Sunday night.
A police statement issued after midnight said a group of about 60 anti-government protestors made their way into Qasqas and Mazraa through a side road opposite to where the army vehicles were deployed, smashing the windows of three parked cars and several stores with stones and sticks.
It said two people were wounded when protestors broke into "the house of one of the citizens," before security forces intervened and dispersed them.
The police statement accused the protestors of penetrating Qasqas and Mazraa neighborhoods "not to express their views … but to harass the people and passer-bys, provoke them, damage their properties and stage riots."
It urged "those overseeing the protestors to guide them towards the right course so as to avoid being arrested and referred to the judiciary."
Monday's clashes appeared less severe than Sunday's when Mahmoud was killed and 22 others injured.
The army deployed reinforcements on full alert in Qasqas, where Sunday's shooting took place.
Hundreds of army troops also manned armored vehicles to guard the entrances of other Sunni areas, fearing revenge attacks, while at the protest site, Hizbullah "discipline men" in civilian clothes were maintaining a tight grip on the crowds.
Mahmoud's death was the first violent incident since the launch of the open-ended sit-in on Friday, threatening to take an already heated cauldron of political division to boiling point.(Naharnet-AFP)
05-12-06
BY: NAHARNET
Hundreds of army troops in armored vehicles stepped in, firing warning shots in the air to break up renewed clashes late Monday between government supporters and protestors vowing to topple Premier Fouad Saniora's cabinet.
About 300 angry protestors also blocked the Beirut airport highway after midnight, but the Lebanese army intervened and opened the road.
Fighting broke out in several predominantly Sunni neighborhoods after nightfall Monday as the body of Ali Ahmed Mahmoud who was killed in a similar street fight the day before was brought by ambulance to downtown Beirut, where thousands of Hizbullah-led protestors were camping for the fourth straight night demanding to overthrow Saniora's government.
Shiite leaders urged Mahmoud's family to avoid revenge, fearing sectarian violence that could detonate Lebanon's political crisis.
Soldiers already deployed in Beirut went into action after riot police were overwhelmed by protestors who invaded one of the Sunni n
Calm was restored after an hour of unrest, which followed a day of tension after 20-year-old Mahmoud, a Shiite, was killed on Sunday night.
A police statement issued after midnight said a group of about 60 anti-government protestors made their way into Qasqas and Mazraa through a side road opposite to where the army vehicles were deployed, smashing the windows of three parked cars and several stores with stones and sticks.
It said two people were wounded when protestors broke into "the house of one of the citizens," before security forces intervened and dispersed them.
The police statement accused the protestors of penetrating Qasqas and Mazraa neighborhoods "not to express their views … but to harass the people and passer-bys, provoke them, damage their properties and stage riots."
It urged "those overseeing the protestors to guide them towards the right course so as to avoid being arrested and referred to the judiciary."
Monday's clashes appeared less severe than Sunday's when Mahmoud was killed and 22 others injured.
The army deployed reinforcements on full alert in Qasqas, where Sunday's shooting took place.
Hundreds of army troops also manned armored vehicles to guard the entrances of other Sunni areas, fearing revenge attacks, while at the protest site, Hizbullah "discipline men" in civilian clothes were maintaining a tight grip on the crowds.
Mahmoud's death was the first violent incident since the launch of the open-ended sit-in on Friday, threatening to take an already heated cauldron of political division to boiling point.(Naharnet-AFP)
