A Dangerous Escalation: As Many As 10 Soldiers Killed In Lebanon As Violence Spills Over From Syrian War
Listen to the video below. This is what the “Religion of Peace” sounds like …
Update: 16 Lebanese soldiers now killed …
By Loveday Morris, The Washington Post – “BEIRUT — Clashes raged in the southern Lebanon city of Sidon on Sunday night, claiming the lives of as many as 10 soldiers as violence triggered by the war in Syria engulfed its smaller neighbor.
The army said it was the subject of a ‘cold-blooded’ attack by armed gunmen intent on plunging Lebanon back into the strife of its own 15-year civil war. Sunni militiamen loyal to outspoken Sidon cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir exchanged rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire during the standoff, according to the army and the National News Agency.
The war in Syria has polarized Lebanon, straining relations between Sunnis and Shiites. The situation has been further inflamed by the decision of the powerful Lebanese Shiite militant movement Hezbollah to send fighters to back President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria.
It was the second time in less than a week that clashes have erupted in Sidon, a coastal city 25 miles south of the capital, signaling Lebanon’s growing inability to insulate itself from the war in Syria.
Sunday’s fighting marked a dangerous escalation as the army, seen by many as the glue that holds the country together and an institution that stands above sectarian divisions, became the target, with Assir lambasting it for perceived links to Hezbollah.
As the night wore on and fighting intensified, army checkpoints also came under fire in the northern city of Tripoli and next to the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ein al-Hilweh. Roads were temporarily blocked by Assir’s supporters up and down the coast and in the capital.” Read more.
Flashback: The ‘Religion of Peace’ in Lebanon
- Hardline Lebanese Sunni Muslim Cleric Warns That ‘War Is Coming To Lebanon’
- Jordanian Sunni Jihadist Leader Calls For Showdown Against Shiite Hezbollah
- Four Killed In Tripoli Fighting Between Gunmen Loyal To Opposing Sides In Syria Civil War
- Syrian Rebels: Conflict With Hezbollah Has Now Grown Into Hostility Against All Of Lebanon
- Syrian Opposition Adds Hezbollah Terrorists To Target List, Threatens Attacks Inside Lebanon
- Lebanese Sign Up For Jihad Against Hezbollah, Parade Pro-Assad Syrian Through Streets With Noose Around Neck




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