A militiaman in civilian clothes exchanged heated words with a soldier at one of the checkpoints on the demilitarized "green line" that divides Beirut. The militiaman then jumped into his car and sped away. A trivial enough incident, but it touched off the worst fighting in Lebanon's capital since the Syrian-backed peace plan was adopted July 4. In the four hours of fighting that followed, the largely Christian Fifth Brigade in the east traded fire with the mostly Muslim Sixth Brigade in the west. Five people were wounded. The event revived fears that the army is dangerously...
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