Syria-linked clashes rage in Lebanon

BEIRUT -- Deadly sectarian street battles again engulfed Lebanon's northern coastal city of Tripoli Saturday as supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad clashed in fierce gunfights in the country's latest Syria-linked unrest.

The heavy fighting, including cross-neighborhood machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenade attacks, revived fears that Syria's increasingly bloody rebellion could be spilling into neighboring Lebanon, with its complex mix of rival sects and its own history of civil strife.

By the early evening, Lebanon's official National News Agency reported at least 10 people had been killed and more than two dozen wounded, marking yesterday's battles as among the most deadly Syria-related fighting in Lebanon since the Syrian rebellion broke out more than a year ago.

Underlying the gun battles are bitter sectarian divisions between two rival neighborhoods -- on one side is Bab al-Tabbaneh, a largely Sunni Muslim area where anti-Assad sentiment is strong, and next door is Jabal Mohsen district, a pro-Assad stronghold. Jabal Mohsen is home to many adherents of the Shia-offshoot Alawite sect, whose members also include Assad and much of his security leadership.

Gunfire broke out around midnight Friday and intensified Saturday, authorities said.

The latest fighting in Tripoli has stoked further alarm over heightening sectarian tensions in this volatile Mediterranean country. Lebanon has close political and social links to Syria.

The official Lebanese news agency reported that "rocket bombs" could be heard every 10 minutes Saturday afternoon and that snipers were targeting civilians at two roundabouts and along the international highway.

The two neighborhoods have long-standing rivalries and have fought on numerous occasions in the past. But tensions have risen considerably and clashes have intensified since the revolt broke out in Syria in March 2011.