At least five people including three Hezbollah members were killed on Sunday south of the Lebanese capital when gunmen opened fire at the funeral of a Hezbollah commander who was killed a day earlier, an official from the Shiite terrorist group said.
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The Lebanese military said it deployed in the coastal town of Khaldeh to contain the tension after heavy fire – including from rocket-propelled grenades – terrorized residents and brought traffic to a standstill. The gunmen remain at large.
The military warned it would fire at any source of fire or anyone carrying weapons on the main road. It said one of its soldiers was wounded in the shooting.
The violence is rooted in a personal vendetta but could be a sign of growing sectarian strife in the economically beleaguered country.
Lebanese media reported that a man from one of the Sunni Arab tribes of Khaldeh had opened fire during a wedding party at a club on Saturday night, killing Ali Chebli, a Hezbollah fighter.
Chebli's killer was apprehended, and his family explained the attack as revenge. It accused Chebli of killing a 15-year-old relative of theirs in a shooting a year earlier. The family, who are Sunnis, said in a statement that authorities never brought Chebli to justice because he was under the protection of Shiite Hezbollah.
A grouping of Arab Sunni tribes in Lebanon also issued a statement saying they did not want to be drawn into an armed confrontation but blamed Hezbollah for the troubles and accused it of stirring sectarian tensions.
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mekati called on the army to increase its security presence in Khaldeh, which lies on a coastal highway leading to the south of the country.
Local television networks showed footage of armed youths rampaging in the area.
The Hezbollah official said gunmen ambushed Chebli's funeral procession when it reached the family home, firing at the mourners, killing his brother-in-law and a friend, and wounding others.
The army deployed to defuse the tensions and free family members, who had taken shelter in the house with the body. The official called for the perpetrators of the violence to be brought to trial.
Sectarian conflict in the area was sparked last year after a dispute over a Shiite religious banner that was hoisted in the area of the Sunni Arab tribes. Tensions often flare in the area.
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