Beirut: One person was killed and 10 people were wounded in clashes in south Beirut on Sunday between supporters of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and rival fighters, security sources said.
The fighting broke out before dawn between gunmen loyal to Shaker Barjawi, a Sunni who supports the Syrian Alawite president, and Sunnis who back the three-year uprising against Al Assad’s rule.
Gunmen exchanged gunfire and rocket-propelled-grenades for several hours in the area, in the worst fighting in the Lebanese capital in nearly two years
Residents heard the sound of loud gunfire and explosions coming from the Al Gharbi district of southern Beirut, where Barjawi has an office.
Security sources named the dead man as Nabil Hannash.
Barjawi, head of the pro-Al Assad Arab Movement Party, said that four of his followers were wounded in the fighting. State-run National News Agency said Barjawi’s AMP fought against rival Sunni gunmen.
Several other people including civilians, were wounded in the clashes, they said. The army later deployed in the area and the clashes appeared to subside.
The fighting in Beirut follows a week of sustained violence in the northern city of Tripoli, where 27 people have been killed in fighting between Al Assad supporters and opponents which also sparked clashes with the Lebanese army.
