Toll in Syria-linked clashes in Lebanon rises to 11

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Agence France-Presse

The latest fighting broke out on Thursday after a Sunni man was killed by unknown gunmen on a motorbike in central Tripoli. REUTERS Photo

Eleven people have been killed in three days of clashes in the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli linked to the conflict in Syria, security sources and the Lebanese army said Sunday.
      
Overnight, the army announced the death of a soldier when a military patrol in the city was hit by an anti-tank grenade.
     
The latest death brought the toll in clashes that began on Thursday to 11, a security source said.
      
The clashes, which have also injured 50 people, pit the Alawite district of Jabal Mohsen against the neighbouring Sunni quarter of Bab al-Tebbaneh.
      
The latest fighting broke out on Thursday after a Sunni man was killed by unknown gunmen on a motorbike in central Tripoli.
     
But tensions between the districts have run high for decades, only increasing with the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, where Alawite President Bashar al-Assad faces a Sunni-dominated uprising.
      
The Lebanese army has deployed in the city, arresting several people overnight and responding to sources of fire.
      
The war in Syria has deepened existing sectarian and political tensions in Lebanon, particularly between supporters of the Shiite movement Hezbollah, an Assad ally, and Sunni backers of former prime minister Saad Hariri who support the uprising.