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Calm returns to Tripoli

Lebanese armed forces dispatched dozens of vehicles to the Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen districts in Tripoli Thursday to enforce a cease-fire that killed four in recent gunbattles.

Gunfire broke out late Wednesday and spilled over into the morning hours of Thursday as snipers killed at least two civilians of the Alawite community.  Fighting had calmed by daybreak Thursday, however.

Masked gunmen had this week ran through deserted streets dodging gunfire, though rival sides agreed late Wednesday to a cease-fire and allowed national security forces into the city.

Nine people died and over 20 were wounded in fighting in Tripoli in recent weeks as embattled Prime Minister Fuad Siniora struggles to form a unity government amid infighting over the distribution of Cabinet posts.

The internal bickering among Lebanese lawmakers erupted following a May 21 deal between the Shiite Hizballah and the ruling Sunni majority.  Siniora said this week he hoped to establish a new government before President Michel Suleiman left for a summit in Paris on Sunday.

AFP

 

Author

Daniel Graeber

Daniel Graeber is a writer for United Press International covering Iraq, Afghanistan and the broader Levant. He has published works on international and constitutional law pertaining to US terrorism cases and on child soldiers. His first major work, entitled The United States and Israel: The Implications of Alignment, is featured in the text, Strategic Interests in the Middle East: Opposition or Support for US Foreign Policy. He holds a MA in Diplomacy and International Conflict Management from Norwich University, where his focus was international relations theory, international law, and the role of non-state actors.

Areas of Focus:International law; Middle East; Government and Politics; non-state actors

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