Imam killed in Lebanon village shootout
Akkar, LEBANON (AFP)
An imam was killed and five people wounded in a gun battle between rival communities in a village in northern Lebanon on Sunday, a security official said.
The shooting erupted between Sunni Muslims and Alawites in the village of Sheikhlar in the northern region of Akkar, he said, adding that rescue workers were unable to enter because of the intensity of the fighting.
The official identified the victim as Ezzedin Kassem, the imam of the mosque in a neighboring village.
Five other people were hurt in the shootout, he said, adding that automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades were used in the fighting which was triggered by a "dispute between villagers."
The village lies about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the port city of Tripoli, the scene of a spate of deadly clashes between the two communities which each support rival political factions.
In June and July, 23 people were killed in battles between Sunni Muslim supporters of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and their Damascus-backed rivals from the Alawite community who support the Shiite militant Hezbollah movement.
There has been tension between the two ever since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
Alawites consider themselves a sect of Islam and straddle the border into Syria whose President Bashar al-Assad is a follower of the faith.
Sheikhlar is also home to Maronite Christians.