Sectarian fighting in northern Lebanese city kills 2 people, wounds 12

Sectarian clashes broke out Friday in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at least two people and wounding 12, including a soldier, police officials said. The clashes between Sunni Muslim gunmen and Alawites, an offshoot Shiite sect, broke out at dawn after a hand grenade was thrown toward a Sunni area, the state-run National News Agency reported. Tension has been high along Lebanon's religious and political fault lines since the militant Shiite group Hezbollah overran parts of Beirut in May in response to government attempts to limit its power. The deal that ended that crisis saw Hezbollah and other opposition politicians re-enter the government of the Western-backed prime minister, Fuad Saniora, with veto power over its decisions. Friday's clashes occurred as the government was struggling to draft a document... [read full story]