Lebanon's violence claims 12 lives

Northern city of Tripoli witnessed sporadic gunfire blasts on Sunday following rounds of fierce fighting among local militias that broke out last week. Official National News Agency (NNA) said intermittent crackle of sniper and gunfire echoed from the demarcation lines of sand-bagged opposition fronts and shell-pocked buildings, but the warriors abstained from employing heavy-calibre weapons. Up to 12 people have been killed and nearly 60 others have been wounded since the current bout of clashes erupted five days ago, the NNA reported. The fighting is pitting gunmen loyal and against the Syrian regime -- entrenched in Bab Al-Tebbaneh and Baal Mohsen districts. Meanwhile, Lebanese Army troops staged fresh patrols on roads, alleways and streets of the hot spots, occasionally being targeted with sniper fire. The troops have been retaliating for such attacks, machine-gunning suspected sources of the fire. The local violence has particularly intensified since eruption of the Syrian popular uprising in 2011. This front in Tripoli, a port city approximately 80 km north of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, had existed in early stages of the 1975-1990 civil war.