[New York Times] Robert F. Worth and Nada Bakri - After almost a week of street battles that left scores dead, long-simmering Sunni-Shiite tensions have sharply worsened in Lebanon. The violence energized radical Sunni factions, including some affiliated with al-Qaeda, and extremist Sunni Web sites across the Arab world have been buzzing with calls for a jihad to avenge the wounded pride of Lebanese Sunnis. Fatah al-Islam, which fought a bloody three-month battle with the Lebanese Army in northern Lebanon last year, issued a statement Thursday condemning Hizbullah's actions and warning: "He who pushes our faces in the dirt must be confronted, even if that means sacrificing our lives and shedding blood."
2008-05-19 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive