6 Killed In Beirut Clashes As Tensions Over Blast Probe Soar
Newsy
Deadly clashes erupted along a former 1975-1990 civil war front-line between Muslim Shiite and Christian areas.
Heavy gunfire broke out Thursday in Beirut during a protest organized by the Hezbollah group against the judge leading the probe into last year's blast in the city's port. At least six people were killed and dozens wounded in the most violent street fighting in the Lebanese capital in years.
The exchanges of fire along a former front line from the 1975-90 civil war involved pistols, automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, and were reminiscent of that conflict. Gunfire echoed for hours, and ambulances rushed to pick up casualties. Snipers shot from buildings. Bullets penetrated apartment windows in the area. Schools were evacuated and residents hid in shelters.
The chaos raised the specter of a return to sectarian violence in a country already embroiled in multiple crises, including one of the world's worst economic crises of the past 150 years.
