Post by jeffolie on May 26, 2013 11:40:04 GMT -6
Lebanon rockets, gun battles, Syria spillover
" ... A pair of rockets slammed into the southern reaches of Beirut early Sunday ... Four men were injured but none killed in the rocket strikes, officials said. All the injured were Syrian laborers at a used car lot ... The northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, however, has seen a week of running gun battles between pro- and anti-Assad factions that have left at least 25 dead. ... . Many Sunni Muslims in Lebanon back the rebellion against Assad and resent Hezbollah’s intervention in the Syrian conflict. ...
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Rockets hit Beirut, stirring fear of Syria conflict spillover
May 26, 2013,
BEIRUT--A pair of rockets slammed into the southern reaches of Beirut early Sunday, raising fears that spillover violence from the conflict in neighboring Syria could be spreading to the Lebanese capital.
Four men were injured but none killed in the rocket strikes, officials said. All the injured were Syrian laborers at a used car lot where one of the rockets struck. The other shell hit a nearby apartment building.
Authorities said the Grad rockets—known to be notoriously imprecise —were launched from an area about six miles away.
The attacks targeted a district where the Shiite militant group Hezbollah is a dominant force. That prompted speculation that the assault was linked to Hezbollah’s role supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad against a more-than-two-year uprising.
The rocket assault came a day after Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, gave a fiery speech vowing “victory” in Syria and pledging all-out support to Assad’s government. Many Sunni Muslims in Lebanon back the rebellion against Assad and resent Hezbollah’s intervention in the Syrian conflict.
Various Lebanese politicians condemned the attacks as an attempt to foment sectarian strife.
Until the Sunday morning strikes, Beirut had been largely immune from violence associated with the Syrian conflict. The northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, however, has seen a week of running gun battles between pro- and anti-Assad factions that have left at least 25 dead.
www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-rockets-hit-beirut-20130526,0,1775252.story
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Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As there has been no recent population census, the exact population is unknown; estimates in 2007 ranged from slightly more than 1 million to slightly less than 2 million. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport.
... During the 2006 Lebanon War, Israeli bombardment caused damage in many parts of Beirut, especially the poorer and largely Shiite South Beirut.
In May 2008, after the government decided to disband Hezbollah's communications network (a decision it later rescinded), violent clashes broke out briefly between government allies and opposition forces, before control of the city was handed over to the Lebanese Army. After this a national dialogue conference was held in Doha at the invitation of the Prince of Qatar. The conference agreed to appoint a new president of Lebanon and to establish a new national government involving all the political adversaries. As a result of the Doha Agreement, the opposition's camp in the capital was removed.
... Beirut sits on a peninsula extending westward into the Mediterranean Sea about 94 km (58 mi) north of the Lebanon-Israel border.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut
" ... A pair of rockets slammed into the southern reaches of Beirut early Sunday ... Four men were injured but none killed in the rocket strikes, officials said. All the injured were Syrian laborers at a used car lot ... The northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, however, has seen a week of running gun battles between pro- and anti-Assad factions that have left at least 25 dead. ... . Many Sunni Muslims in Lebanon back the rebellion against Assad and resent Hezbollah’s intervention in the Syrian conflict. ...
=====================================
Rockets hit Beirut, stirring fear of Syria conflict spillover
May 26, 2013,
BEIRUT--A pair of rockets slammed into the southern reaches of Beirut early Sunday, raising fears that spillover violence from the conflict in neighboring Syria could be spreading to the Lebanese capital.
Four men were injured but none killed in the rocket strikes, officials said. All the injured were Syrian laborers at a used car lot where one of the rockets struck. The other shell hit a nearby apartment building.
Authorities said the Grad rockets—known to be notoriously imprecise —were launched from an area about six miles away.
The attacks targeted a district where the Shiite militant group Hezbollah is a dominant force. That prompted speculation that the assault was linked to Hezbollah’s role supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad against a more-than-two-year uprising.
The rocket assault came a day after Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, gave a fiery speech vowing “victory” in Syria and pledging all-out support to Assad’s government. Many Sunni Muslims in Lebanon back the rebellion against Assad and resent Hezbollah’s intervention in the Syrian conflict.
Various Lebanese politicians condemned the attacks as an attempt to foment sectarian strife.
Until the Sunday morning strikes, Beirut had been largely immune from violence associated with the Syrian conflict. The northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, however, has seen a week of running gun battles between pro- and anti-Assad factions that have left at least 25 dead.
www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-rockets-hit-beirut-20130526,0,1775252.story
=========================
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As there has been no recent population census, the exact population is unknown; estimates in 2007 ranged from slightly more than 1 million to slightly less than 2 million. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport.
... During the 2006 Lebanon War, Israeli bombardment caused damage in many parts of Beirut, especially the poorer and largely Shiite South Beirut.
In May 2008, after the government decided to disband Hezbollah's communications network (a decision it later rescinded), violent clashes broke out briefly between government allies and opposition forces, before control of the city was handed over to the Lebanese Army. After this a national dialogue conference was held in Doha at the invitation of the Prince of Qatar. The conference agreed to appoint a new president of Lebanon and to establish a new national government involving all the political adversaries. As a result of the Doha Agreement, the opposition's camp in the capital was removed.
... Beirut sits on a peninsula extending westward into the Mediterranean Sea about 94 km (58 mi) north of the Lebanon-Israel border.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut