Death toll of clashes in Lebanese Tripoli jumps to 9

At least nine people were killed and 70 others injured in the heavy clashes between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime in the northern city of Tripoli. An eyewitness told KUNA that the clashes between pro-Syrian regime Alawites in Jabel Mohsen and anti-Syrian regime Sunnis in Bab Al-Tebaneh have gravely intensified and the security situation is deteriorating at a quick pace. He added that residents were advised to evacuate high buildings amid fears of that being hit by exchanged mortar shells. Shops in the city have been closed and streets are almost vacant except from rival fighters, he added. Lebanon is struggling to contain the spillover of the violence stemming from the civil war in the neighboring Syria, where more than 100,000 people have been killed in the past 31 months. Clashes between Sunnis and Alawites in Tripoli have been sporadic for decades, but the Syrian conflict has reopened old wounds, with each side accusing the other of using the city as a base for sending gunmen and weapons in and out of Syria.