Lebanon uneasy over Syrian conflict

The opposition March 14 bloc in the Lebanese government said it blames Syria for deadly clashes in the country that left at least seven dead this week. Several people were wounded in clashes Wednesday in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, al-Arabiya reports. Weekend clashes erupted after Lebanese forces arrested Islamist leader Shadi al-Mawlawi on charges of supporting terrorism. His supporters say he was targeted for helping Syrian refugees escape into Lebanon. Weekend clashes left at least seven people dead and roughly 100 wounded. March 14 blamed Syria for the border violence. "The General Secretariat took note of the critical juncture that Tripoli (reached) in the past few days and affirmed that the basis of (the events) are an attempt by the Syrian regime to export its crisis to Lebanon," the Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon quoted the coalition as saying. Damascus held considerable sway over political affairs in Beirut until the Cedar Revolution broke Syria's grip on the country in 2005. Violence in neighboring Syria has raged for more than a year. The country agreed to the terms of a peace deal brokered by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, though there are few signs that fighting has ended.