Lebanese soldiers in an army tank patrol the streets of the northern port city of Tripoli Four people have been killed and 40 have been injured in sectarian clashes in Lebanon’s Tripoli on Sunday, an official source said. Sunni Muslims and Alawites – who support Bashar al-Assad’s regime – exchanged bullets and rocket fire in Jabal Mohsen. Two members of each community were killed.
Sunday’s clash was the first one since the army deployed security measures on Friday to protect the two neighbourhoods.
Seventeen people have died since Tuesday, including two children.
Tensions in the city intensified when 22 Lebanese nationals, who had joined the Free Syrian Army, were killed in an ambush by the regime’s forces.
The Syrian regime agreed to return the bodies to Lebanon. Three have been repatriated on Sunday, a security source said.
In a related context, the Syrian regime has warned on Sunday that rebels could use chemical weapons against Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The regime, on the other hand, vowed never to use such means against their own people.
This statement contradicts the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, who said Bashar al-Assad’s regime could resort to chemical weapons.
Hague said: \"Terrorist groups may resort to using chemical weapons against the Syrian people... after having gained control of a toxic chlorine factory.\"
These comments come amid growing concern over Syria’s chemical weapons reserves. Some US officials have revealed this week that they believe the regime is currently producing sarin, a highly toxic and deadly chemical. It has been reported that sarin bombs have already been loaded onto Syrian aircraft.
The British Foreign Secretary says that there is evidence that the Assad regime would use these bombs against the insurgents: \"We are extremely concerned about the stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and we are also concerned about evidence during the last couple of weeks that the regime could use them,\" he told reporters in Manama.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that the Syrian regime would be committing an “outrageous crime”.