By NNN-KUNA,
Beirut : Fourteen people have lost their lives in latest round of violent armed clashes between pro and anti-government militiamen in northern Lebanon, security authorities reported on Sunday.
They said the fighting raged in the residential district of Bab Al-Tabbanah in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city, the region of Al-Dinniah and the city of Halba, provincial capital of Akkar provice, northeast of he coastal city.
The fighting pitted armed followers of Saad-Eddine Al-Hariri, the chief of the March 14 movement and the parliamentary majority, against gunmen of the opposition, including militiamen of the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP), one of the allies of the opposition mainstream organization, Hezbollah.
The street clashes that broke out yesterday continued throughout the night and early today in various regions of Tripoli, some 100 kilometers north of the capital of Beirut, security sources said.
During the morning clashes today, a 16-year-old girl died with stray bullets inside her house in the northern city.
Meanwhile, security conditions in Beirut and nearby regions remained highly fragile and tense, amid heavy deployment of Lebanese Army troops.
The opposition, yesterday, declared withdrawal of gunmen from streets of the capital but said the “civil disobedience” would continue, indirectly hinting that measures of protests such as the blocking of roads would be maintained.
The opposition dramatically escalated action against the government of Fuad Al-Siniora, three days ago, when gunmen of Hezbollah and Amal movement fanned out on streest of west Beirut, occupying buildings for Al-Hariri’s movement.
Yesterday, Hezbollah and gunmen loyal to Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, an ally to Al-Hariri, clashed in areas just southeast of the capital. Several people were killed or kidnapped.
The violence in the Beirut region has taken lives of at least 40 people. Meanwhile, vital sectors including the airport has remained shut. Several states, including Kuwait and Jordan, have been evacuating nationals.