Tensions high near Tripoli after clashes kill 3

TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Schools were closed in Beddawi, near the northern city of Tripoli, Monday, a day after three people were killed in clashes between residents and police.

At least nine other people were also wounded Sunday when Lebanese police clashed with residents in the Beddawi neighborhood of Wadi al-Nahleh.

All 16 public and private schools in Beddawi shut their doors Monday and many parents in Tripoli, scared after Sunday's armed clashes, decided not to send their children to schools.

Fighting broke out after residents in Wadi al-Nahleh held a violent protest against policemen from the Internal Security Forces who were removing and destroying buildings that violated regulations.

The initial clashes escalated with exchanges of gunfire that led to the death of a man identified as Abdullah Abboud Seif. An ISF vehicle was also set on fire during the clashes.

The police withdrew from the area and called on the Lebanese Army to intervene to contain the situation, and arrest the residents who instigated the attack.

An ISF statement said Corporal Ali Saqr died from his wounds after the clashes. It said two police vehicles were torched and several others were damaged.

Local municipality bulldozers reopened Monday the road linking Tripoli to Akkar after protesters blocked it with burning tires late Sunday as well as the entrances to the Beddawi area from Tripoli.

The ISF has recently begun cracking down on buildings constructed illegally in the northern areas, prompting locals to protest angrily, as they did last Monday by blocking the Minyeh-Akkar road.

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