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Two injured in Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon
A RASH OF CLASHES:
The gunfight occurred in a Beirut neighborhood that has recently seen fighting between government backers and the Hezbollah-led opposition
AP, BEIRUT
Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008, Page 6
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Hezbollah militants stand at attention during a memorial service for Hezbollah's recently assassinated top commander Imad Mughniyeh in his home village of Tair Debba, Lebanon, on Sunday.
PHOTO: AP
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Two people were wounded in a shootout in a Muslim neighborhood of Beirut on Sunday, police and hospital officials said.
It was not immediately clear who fired or what caused the clash near the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, but a police official said two people -- a Palestinian and a Lebanese -- were lightly wounded and taken to the nearby Makassed hospital.
The state-run National News Agency reported a shootout between a group of Palestinians and Lebanese, adding that army troops intervened to restore order.
It gave no further details on the cause of the clash but said that the gunmen fled the scene to an unknown location.
Clashes have become common in recent weeks as tensions escalate between rival Lebanese camps and the country's 15-month-old political crisis deepens.
But a police official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear whether Sunday's clash had a political background.
On Saturday night, 14 people were lightly injured in a clash between pro-government and opposition supporters in the Beirut neighborhood of Ras el-Nabaa engaged in fist fights and beat each other with sticks.
The area has in the past week been the scene of sporadic clashes between supporters of the pro-Western government and the Hezbollah-led opposition, backed by Syria.
Saturday's clashes spread to three nearby neighborhoods but ended within a couple of hours. The neighborhoods involved have a mix of Sunni and Shiite Muslims, whose loyalties are split along the political divide.
After the Sunday violence, the military warned against more such clashes and pledged firm action.
"The army command warns of the dangerous situation and will act firmly against anyone who tries to destabilize security," a military statement said.
A Shiite opposition protest over electricity cuts in south Beirut neighborhoods last month degenerated into a riot, prompting troops to open fire. Seven people were killed in that violence.
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