Syrian Fighting Spills Into Lebanon

Four died in Lebanon in a battle between forces loyal to Syria’s Assad, and the opposition.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said fighting broke out in the port city of Tripoli between Sunni Muslims and members of the Shiite Alawite sect of which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a member. The clashes, reportedly involving machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, coincided with the arrival of the bodies of three men who were among a group of Lebanese and Palestinians killed last week near the Syrian border town of Tal Kalakh, near Homs, apparently after they crossed into Syria to fight with the rebels.

Sunday’s fighting underscored concerns that the Syrian war could aggravate sectarian tensions across the region. Anxiety has been particularly high in Tripoli, which like Syria has a majority Sunni population supportive of opposition forces and a minority of Alawites sympathetic to Assad.