Over 7 killed, 40 injured in Tripoli clashes
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E-mail Xinhua, May 23, 2013
At least seven people were killed and 40 others injured in overnight clashes in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, bringing the total casualties of the four-day clashes to 18 killed and 150 injured, local security official told Xinhua Thursday.
On Wednesday, gunfire broke out between the rival neighborhoods of Alawite Jabal Mohsen backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh, the opponents of the Syrian administration in Tripoli, according to security source.
The 60 and 81 mm caliber mortar shells along with other heavy weapons were used for the first time in the overnight clashes, the security official said, adding that sniper fire continued to rattle the battlefronts.
Sporadic riots have plagued the northern Lebanese city since early 2011 when unrest erupted in neighboring Syria.
In March, at least five people were killed and 26 others wounded, including army troops, in gun battles between Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh.
The latest violence occurred as Assad's forces launched an assault on the rebel stronghold in strategic Qusayr city in Syria, near the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant party, has reportedly sent fighters across the border to Qusayr to back Syrian government forces.
In 1985, the Syrian army clashed with Sunni groups in Tripoli during Lebanon's civil war.
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