Gunmen clash in Tripoli, instability grips Lebanon

By Nadim Ladki

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Pro-government Sunni Muslim gunmen fought militiamen allied to Hezbollah in the northern city of Tripoli on Monday, in further violence that has already dismantled the balance of power in Lebanon.

The upheaval, which began when Hezbollah and its allies overran the strongholds of their Sunni political foes in Beirut last week, has recalled memories of the 1975-90 civil war.

Six people were wounded in sporadic gun battles between Sunni fighters in Tripoli's Bab Tebbaneh area and pro-Hezbollah Alawites in neighbouring Jebel Mohsen, security sources said.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas and their pro-Syrian allies have swept through Beirut and hills to the east in a series of dramatic victories since May 7, defeating loyalists of the U.S.-backed government before handing their conquests to the Lebanese army, which has stayed out of the fighting.

At least 36 people were killed on Sunday in fighting between Hezbollah and its pro-government Druze opponents east of Beirut, bringing the overall toll to 81 dead and about 250 wounded.

Hezbollah's success has dealt a severe blow to the ruling Sunni-led coalition and its main patron, the United States, which has cast Lebanon as a fragile democracy endangered by the ambitions of Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian backers.

"We are very disappointed in what's been happening, very concerned by it, and the president you can bet is going to be talking about this while he's on his trip," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, referring to this week's visit to the Middle East by U.S. President George W. Bush.

Bush has not changed his plans to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Egypt on Sunday, Perino said.