Fresh clashes shake north Lebanon: Six killed: sporadic fire despite ceasefire

TRIPOLI  - Six people, including a child, were killed in fierce sectarian clashes on Friday in Lebanon’s northern port of Tripoli as fighters exchanged rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire, a security official said.

The 10-year-old boy died of injuries sustained earlier in the day when he was hit by a stray bullet, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that two women were also among the dead while 33 other people were wounded before a ceasefire took hold.

“The ceasefire went into effect at exactly 6:00 pm (1500 GMT),” the official said. But an AFP correspondent said that sporadic fire could still be heard.

The security official said most of those hurt were caught in crossfire between fighters in the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tebbaneh district and the neighbouring largely Alawite area of Jabal Mohsen. At least one person was wounded by a sniper.

A rocket-propelled grenade slammed into an apartment building near a vegetable market, setting it ablaze, while another one hit a mosque in Bab al-Tebbaneh, an AFP correspondent said.