BEIRUT — The specter of sectarian strife in Lebanon has once again reared its head following a dispute between residents of two towns in the north that ended with the killing of two men over the weekend.
The town of Bcharre in the North governorate was in mourning Monday after Haitham Tawk, 38, and Malek Tawk, in his 50s, were shot dead over the weekend in armed clashes with residents from the nearby Bkaasafrine village in Danniyeh district. The two were not related.
Numerous unconfirmed accounts of the incident have flooded traditional and social media.
According to an army statement, Haitham was found dead on Saturday in Qornet el-Sawda area. Local reports claimed that he was killed by “sniper fire” from a long distance after a group of young men from Danniyeh headed to the area on Friday night. The claims were refuted by the military and civilian forensic doctors who said he was killed at a close range. Malek was later killed in renewed clashes on Saturday. Meanwhile, the army deployed in the area to defuse the tensions.
