BEIRUT: One person was killed and three others wounded Friday in a clash between Lebanese security forces and residents of Beirut's southern suburbs. The clash broke out at 2:30 p.m. on Friday as Internal Security Forces (ISF) personnel were working on eliminating illegally constructed homes on private properties in a neighborhood near the international airport.
According to an official ISF statement, the incident occurred "on the second day of attempts to stop illegal construction near the Beirut airport."
"After the ISF stopped two major violations and were in the process of removing the second one, they were attacked by the residents with stones and sticks and some residents started firing at the ISF," it added.
"The ISF was forced to fire back in the air in defense," said the statement.
It added that one police officer was wounded, along with 11 policemen and three civilians. One civilian, 17-year-old Hassan Soueid, died from his wounds.
Hospital officials said three others had been wounded, not two as reported by the ISF.
The Hizbullah-run Al-Manar television channel said that one of its cameramen was also among the wounded.
The ISF statement said that Soueid "was shot twice in the back by two different weapons from two meters away, and one of the bullets exploded in the body of the victim."
"The type of weapons from which this bullet was released is not used by the ISF," it added.
But witnesses said that the ISF killed Soueid, pointing to the blood-stained floor near one of the illegally built houses where Soueid fell.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
Witnesses said a group of youths started a riot, burning tires, trash and wood, and damaging three police vehicles.
"The illegal construction has been happening for years, why now?" shouted one woman as she held up a blood-stained T-shirt, which she said belonged to one of the wounded teenagers.
The rioters blocked one of the two main roads leading to Beirut airport, but the main highway to the airport remained open.
Security sources said the people involved in the clash did not belong to any political party, adding that Hizbullah officials intervened to calm the situation.
When contacted by The Daily Star, Hizbullah officials said "they did not get involved in this particular clash," and would not elaborate any further.
Soueid, along with Mohammad Hussein Naji, 14, Ali Al-Ouzyer, 7 and Khadar Ammar, 11, were rushed to Rasoul al-Azmaa Hospital located along the old airport road.
"They have sustained serious wounds, and it is not clear if they will make it," Ahamd Talal, head of the hospital administration told The Daily Star.
Family members were seen weeping for the dead and the wounded, with several youths holding up small guns and threatening to "take revenge."
"People are angry because children who threw stones were shot at with guns," said Talal.
Witnesses added that citizens cut the roads leading to the hospital to prevent security forces from checking on them. - With agencies