Tension prevailed in Bab al-Tabanneh after unknown gunmen fired overnight an Inerga-type rocket-propelled grenade at a fruit and vegetable market.
The RPG hit and damaged the car that belonged to Wassim Soboh and wounded one passer-by identified as Rabih Dalal.
Lebanese troops quickly cordoned off the area and began patrolling roads and streets to keep order.

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army said on Saturday that it arrested several people involved in shooting incidents in the Bekaa town of Hermel and the northern city of Tripoli’s Qobbeh region which resulted in the death of three people. An army communiqué said the military arrested 11 people involved in the shooting of a policeman in Hermel and seized arms and ammunition from them.

“Corporal Anwar Mohammad Nasseredine, who was in his 20s, was killed on the spot when gunmen opened fire from their jeep as he drove through the town in his private car,” a security official said Friday. “The incident was a settling of accounts in a family feud.”
Nasseredine’s clan attacked members of the Allaw family whom they blamed for shooting, said security officials on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Clans in the Hermel region, which is known for growing cannabis and opium, are heavily armed. Similar clashes have occurred in the past.

After sunset on Friday, dozens of armed men from both clans were in the streets of Hermel as Lebanese troops tried to stop the clashes.

The unrest came a day after Lebanese troops captured four men wanted in car theft cases and other crimes in the eastern Bekaa Valley.

In April, gunmen ambushed Lebanese troops in the Bekaa, spraying their military vehicle with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. Four soldiers were killed and an officer was wounded in the attack.

The ambush also came after a push by Lebanese troops to crack down on the drug trade and hunt fugitives wanted for other crimes in the Bekaa, and the assault had the hallmarks of a revenge attack by clansmen.
Saturday’s Lebanese Army statement added that the army arrested several gunmen, who took part in Friday night’s Qobbeh clashes, which killed two men.

Security officials said on Friday that members of two families opened fire at each other leaving two dead and three wounded. The shooting erupted after drivers disagreed on who had right of way on the road, the officials said.

In other news, the Internal Security Forces arrested in the southern town of Nabatieh a four-member gang accused of stealing vehicles in the Bekaa and selling them on in the south, the National News Agency reported Saturday.

The NNA said an investigation with two other people, who were arrested Friday on the Ansar-Babliyeh road, led to the arrest of the men. Stolen vehicles were found in possession of the group. Several Lebanese citizens, who had bought the cars from the gang, were also brought in for questioning.

Meanwhile, security sources have warned that extremists could use advanced technology to carry out terrorist attacks against security forces and officials in Lebanon, Al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Saturday.

According to the newspaper, the sources said that an Arab national had visited the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh and delivered three Palestinians, who had been charged in absentia for carrying out terrorist activities, a CD that explains how to booby-trap cameras, mail packages and mobile phones. – The Daily Star, with Naharnet and AP

Three people were killed, including a policeman, and three others were wounded on Friday in separate clashes with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades in Hermel in the Bekaa Valley and in Tripoli up north.

In Qobbeh neighborhood near Tripoli, a personal dispute around 8 pm between a group of young men from al-Qawwas and al-Mohammed families developed into a shootout that left two people killed and three others wounded.

State-run National News Agency identified the victims as Sufian al-Mohammed and Nazira al-Mohammed.

Among the injured were Mohammed al-Mohammed and Walid Qawwas, NNA said.

Security forces swiftly stepped in and contained the fight.

Meanwhile, in Hermel northeast of Lebanon, unknown assailants shot and killed police Corporal Anwar Mohammed Nassereddine in his car.

NNA said the killing took place against the backdrop of a dispute between Nassereddine and Aalaw families.

Armed clashes broke out shortly afterwards over the killing of the policeman. NNA said automatic weapons and RPGs were used in the fighting.

The situation was brought under control after Lebanese troops deployed in the area where clashes took place, running patrols in the streets.

Angry Tripoli residents blocked the international highway with tires on Tuesday to protest power cuts, the National News Agency reported.
Heavy traffic was reported on the highway as a result of the protest. But security forces later opened the road.

The northern port city’s residents also gathered outside the Serail slamming severe power cuts and warning to take escalatory measures if their demands are not met

The first tourist line between the northern port of Tripoli and Famagusta harbor north of Cyprus has been launched.
The first tourist ship arrived at Tripoli port at 7:30pm Monday with 15 managers representing various tourist agencies on board.
A passenger ship will leave Tripoli port for Famagusta every Thursday and return home every Monday evening. The trip is five-hour long.

TRIPOLI: The Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested on Thursday a man of Turkish descent in the northern coastal city of Tripoli for the possession of illegal weapons, a security source told The Daily Star. The ISF busted an arms depot the unidentified suspect’s house in Tripoli. The depot included mortar shells, Kalashnikovs, machine guns and other weaponry.Investigations are currently under way. – The Daily Star