A dispute over scarce fuel supplies ignited sectarian tensions between neighboring Shia Muslim and Christian villages in southern Lebanon over the weekend, forcing the army to intervene, a security source said.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Clashes mostly centered on the crippling gasoline and diesel shortages have become a daily occurrence in Lebanon, prompting growing concern about a descent into chaos after two years of financial meltdown.
Around six people were wounded in a dispute involving the Christian village of Maghdouche and Shia Ankoun, the source said.
The incident spiraled when a Maghdouche resident filed a complaint to police after being injured during a dispute over fuel on Friday and police visited Ankoun to investigate.
Villagers blocked roads and burnt trees and troops were deployed, the source said. The situation was calm on Monday.
The Shia Amal movement, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, condemned the violence, saying it had, “no relation in any way shape or form to what happened in Maghdouche,” denying accusations on social media of involvement.
The financial meltdown, which has seen the currency sink by more than 90 percent in two years and forced more than half of the population into poverty, entered a new phase this month as the fuel shortages brought much of Lebanon to a standstill.
The state’s most senior Sunni Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, said on Friday Lebanon was heading towards complete collapse unless action was taken to remedy the crisis.
The financial meltdown has been compounded by political paralysis, the country being without a government since the last one resigned in the aftermath of last year’s Beirut port blast.
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, the third to attempt to form a cabinet since the last one resigned, said on Friday there were grave hurdles complicating the process.
Read more:
US talking to Egypt, Jordan to help Lebanon’s fuel, energy needs: Senior US diplomat
Kuwait urges its citizens to avoid and delay travel to Lebanon
Hezbollah’s insistence on control is major cause of Lebanon’s problems: Saudi FM
Also Read
-
US talking to Egypt, Jordan to help Lebanon’s fuel, energy needs: Senior US diplomat
Hezbollah's Nasrallah can “try as much as he wants to pin it all on the United States, and he can call me names. Seriously, is that the best he can do?” US Ambassador to Lebanon tells Al Arabiya English. Middle East -
Kuwait urges its citizens to avoid and delay travel to Lebanon
Kuwait’s embassy in Lebanon has urged its citizens to avoid or delay any travel plans to Lebanon following clashes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, ... Middle East -
Hezbollah’s insistence on control is major cause of Lebanon’s problems: Saudi FM
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday the insistence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group on imposing its will in Lebanon was a main reason ... Middle East
