Lebanon: Sectarian violence kills three
A soldier expresses anger over a civilian death in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood of the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, on Aug. 22, 2012. Fighting between anti-Assad Sunnis and pro-Assad Alawites erupted on Aug. 21, 2012, an has continued for 5 days.
A Sunni commander and two people were killed today in fresh clashes between Alawites and Sunnis in Lebanon's port city of Tripoli, according to Reuters.
The Associated Press reports 2 people killed and 17 wounded.
It's the fifth day of sectarian violence, some of the worst since Lebanon's civil war ended in 1990.
Yesterday Reuters quoted a Tripoli resident: "A ceasefire was supposed to take place this afternoon but it did not happen."
Syria's civil war between Assad's Alawite controlled regime and a largely (but not entirely) Sunni rebellion, has spilled over into neighboring Lebanon and reignited sectarian animosity.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the army is trying "to bring the situation under control, prohibit any armed presence and arrest those implicated," Haaretz reported.
The Associated Press reports over 20,000 people have died in the Syrian Civil War.
The war has also produced over 200,000 refugees. Most have fled to bordering countries, including Lebanon and Turkey.
"We are now at a much higher level of 202,512 refugees in the surrounding region," UN agency spokesman Adrian Edwards said on Friday. "In Jordan, a record 2,200 people crossed the border overnight and were received at Za'atri camp in the north."
Edwards also said 51,000 Syrian refugees are currently registered in Lebanon.
He added, "The deteriorating security situation in Lebanon is hampering our work to help refugees fleeing Syria's conflict, though operations are continuing."