Shiitenews.com

Lebanese tradesmen in Tripoli protest deadly Syria-related clashes

Lebanese shopkeepers in the northern port city of Tripoli have gone on strike to protest the recent deadly clashes between the supporters and opponents of the Syrian government.

The shopkeepers began the strike on Monday, two days after a new round of the clashes broke out in Tripoli.

Thirteen people were killed on June 2 and two others who had been injured in the fighting died the next day.

On June 3, extra Lebanese troops were deployed in Tripoli after the deadly confrontation.

Fighting between the supporters of the Syrian government, from the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood, and its opponents, who come from the nearby Bab al-Tibbaneh neighborhood, erupted on May 12 as the anti-Damascus demonstrators tried to approach the office of the pro-Damascus Syrian Social Nationalist Party.

On May 21, the Lebanese state media said two people were killed and 18 others were injured in similar clashes in the capital, Beirut.

The latest Syria-related clashes in Lebanon come at a time when some Western governments have called for the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin is against the Western demands and has called for action in “an accurate, balanced manner” in Syria.

“Why are we thinking that if we push the current (Syrian) leadership from power, then tomorrow general wellbeing will begin there,” Putin said during a joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande in Paris on June 1.