| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Three dead as rival gunmen clash in Bekaa villages |
| 2008-06-18 |
| Pro-government and opposition forces traded accusations on Tuesday over responsibility for deadly clashes that erupted overnight in the Bekaa Valley. Three people were killed and several wounded in fighting between supporters of the Future Movement, on the one hand, and Hizbullah and Amal on the other, the worst violence since a nascent process of reconciliation got under way with the Doha agreement last month. Future's leader, MP Saad Hariri, urged supporters in the towns of Saadnayel and Taalbaya, where the clashes took place, to practice restraint and cooperate with security forces to prevent more bloodshed. In a statement, he also backed efforts aimed at defusing the situation. Hizbullah and Amal accused Future supporters of provoking the clashes. In a joint statement, they said all factions should follow the instructions of the army so that it can help stabilize the situation. "Those who provoked the clashes and the criminals should be brought to justice," the statement added. The Lebanese Army on Tuesday did not issue a statement detailing the incident or steps to avoid escalation. However, a report published by the Central News Agency said said the army established checkpoints and conducted extensive patrols in Saadnayel and Taalbaya, "to avoid further escalation or renewed exchange of fire." An AFP correspondent in the Bekaa area said machine-gun fire, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades could be heard from midnight on Monday and continued sporadically until dawn. The violence erupted just hours after United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Lebanon to bolster new President Michel Sleiman and push for the creation of a national unity government. Two of the dead were killed in a drive-by shooting thought to have sparked the clashes, medical and security officials said. "There was an exchange of fire in mixed [Sunni-Shiite] areas. We sent in a large force and the situation is now under control," an army official told AFP. The toll was the highest since rival factions reached a deal in Doha last month aimed at ending a tense 18-month political crisis which drove it to the brink of civil war. |
| Posted by:Steve |