5 Die as Militias Renew Fighting in South Lebanon
Iranian-backed militants launched new attacks Tuesday in southern Lebanon in the 11th day of fighting against rival Shiite Muslim militiamen. Five people were reported killed and 18 wounded.
Police said members of the two militias, Amal and Hezbollah, battled with tanks, rocket-propelled grenades and recoilless rifles in the hills around the village of Kfar Hatta, southeast of Sidon.
The police said that Hezbollah, which is loyal to Iran, needs control of the area to protect the flow of supplies from the Bekaa Valley to its bases in south Lebanon.
Kfar Hatta lies just below mountain routes, controlled by Israeli troops and a predominantly Christian allied militia, that link Israel’s self-proclaimed security zone in south Lebanon to Jezzine, a Christian town east of Sidon.
Tuesday’s casualties raised the toll to more than 60 killed and more than 230 wounded since Dec. 23, when the latest fighting began between Hezbollah and Amal, a Shiite militia supported by Syria.
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