Death toll reaches 23 in clashes in Lebanon's Tripoli

The death toll from clashes in Lebanon's Tripoli has risen to 23 as cautious calm prevailed in the northern city Friday after fierce battles between pro- and anti-Syria neighborhoods, a local security source told Xinhua. According to the source, the calm had been occasionally violated by intermittent sniper bullets and a rocket that hit Naji Center, where only material damage was caused. At least 11 people were killed Thursday following gunfire broke out a day before between Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh, the opponents of the Syrian administration. The Lebanese army is preparing to enter Bab al-Tabbaneh after it has fortified its presence in Jabal Mohsen. The latest violence began as the Syrian troops launched an offensive on the rebel stronghold of al-Qussair near the border with Lebanon. Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant party, has been sending fighters across the border to help the Syrian forces in their battles to regain the strategic city. In 1985, the Syrian army clashed with Sunni groups in Tripoli and bombarded some of its areas during Lebanon's civil war.