3 Dead in Lebanon in Spillover Clashes from Syria

Three people were killed in fighting in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday as clashes broke out between opponents and defenders of Syria’s government.

Two men were declared dead after violet outbreaks occurred overnight between ethnic Sunnis from the city’s Bab al-Tabbaneh district and the neighborhood of Jebel Mohsen, which is dominated by ethnic Alawites, Reuters reports. An elderly civilian man was also shot dead by a sniper, and medical officials said 11 others were wounded.

The city of Tripoli is only 30 miles from the border of Syria and its ethnic divisions have been exacerbated by the civil war. Many Sunnis support Syria’s rebels, while the minority Alawites, who are from the same sect as Syrian President Bashar Assad, support the Syrian government. Each side frequently accuses the other of using the city as a base for shipping personnel and weapons in and out of Syria.

[Reuters]