Armed clashes in northern Bekaa kill 3

Armed clashes which broke out in the northern Bekaa killed three Lebanese and severely wounded one Wednesday. Sources told The Daily Star that residents from the northern border region of Wadi Khaled were helping a Syrian family to cross the border to Lebanon over mountainous terrain in Akroum, Akkar near Baalbek-Hermel, when they exchanged fire with members of the Jaafar clan. Two members of Jaafar family from the village of Hourani, which lies in Syrian territory adjacent to the Akkar and Baalbek-Hermel districts, were killed in the exchange. Ahmad Khaled Abu Ali, from Wadi Khaled, was killed in the violence as well, and another person from the region was severely wounded. Following the incident, residents of Akroum and Hourani exchanged fire with each other over the border. The northern and eastern border has been particularly volatile since the outbreak of the anti-regime uprising in neighboring Syria. Residents of the north and several districts of Bekaa are supportive of the uprising and are hosting the numerous Syrian refugees who continue to pour into the country. But residents of Baalbek-Hermel and the Jaafar clan are sympathetic with the embattled Syrian leader. In May, members from the Jaafar clan living in villages in Syrian territories engaged in a series of tit-for-tat kidnappings and armed clashes with the opposition Free Syrian Army. (daily star)