Accord signed to end north Lebanon bloodshed
BEIRUT (Agencies)
A reconciliation accord was signed Monday between Alawites and Sunnis in northern
Lebanon's capital of Tripoli aiming to restore state control in the port city and put an end to bloodshed.
At least 23 people have been killed since clashes broke out in May between residents of Jabal Mohsen, who mostly support Lebanon's opposition led by Hezbollah, and those of Bab al-Tebbaneh who back the anti-Syrian ruling bloc.
The six-point Tripoli Document calls for armed men to withdraw from the streets, security forces to deploy, the displaced to return home, compensation for material losses, and an economic development plan for the city.
Parliamentary leader Saad Hariri, a Sunni leader, has been in Tripoli since Saturday trying to reconcile the city's feuding communities.
There has been tension between the two sects ever since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam and straddle the border into Syria whose President Bashar al-Assad is a follower of the faith.
Hariri accused Syria on Friday of using the instability in Tripoli as a means to meddle in Lebanese affairs.
The Syrians "want to use the situation in Tripoli as a pretext to involve themselves in Lebanese affairs and use it as a means for their military and security return to Lebanon," Hariri charged.
But Assad said he had asked Lebanese President Michel Sleiman to urgently send more troops to northern Lebanon to combat "extremism."
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in comments published on Monday that he fully supported Hariri's efforts to calm sectarian tensions in Tripoli.