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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Army, ISF troops restore order after armed clashes break out in Sidon | |
| 2009-03-16 | |
| The Lebanese Army conducted a major crackdown on armed groups in Sidon on Friday after clashes broke out on Thursday night. Around 1,000 army soldiers and ISF officers cordoned off large swathes of central Sidon, leading to the arrest of eight armed people and the confiscation of weapons. Security sources say that one of the key perpetrators is a man called Mohammed Saleh, a Palestinian.
For the past four years Sidon has been plagued with periodic outbreaks of violence between armed groups stemming from both political and personal disagreements. Late on Thursday, two groups of armed men began fighting in a bout of violence that lasted for more than an hour. The skirmish began as a personal argument between youths near the Saha Bakery in central Sidon. It quickly deteriorated into exchanges of There were no injuries reported in the fighting, which prompted the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Force to conduct extensive patrols through Sidon overnight, before launching an major operation to catch the culprits. The incident was condemned by all political parties. Sidon MP Bahia Hariri said: "Sidon refuses to allow anyone to mess with its security. I confirm that the security forces will restore security and stability to our city." There are signs that residents of Sidon have had enough of the violence. Security sources told The Daily Star that they received help from residents in catching the perpetrators and added that they also arrested several drug dealers in the swoop. They said that the operation had also taken place in Sidon's suburbs as well as the city center and pledged that the crackdown would continue until all wanted people have been arrested. | |
| Posted by:Fred |