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'Looking to pick a fight'
Photo: Shai Vaaknin

Clashes break out in Shfaram between Christians, Druze

Youths open fire at police forces trying to break up a fight between young Druze, Christians; altercation erupts following rumor of humiliating internet video of late Druze spiritual leader

Police officers, who arrived at the Druze neighborhood in the northern town of Shfaram Tuesday night in order to break up an altercation between Druze and Christians youths, were shot at by the rioters. No one was hurt in the shooting.

 

A police vehicle was hit by 10 bullets. The identity of the shooters is unclear at this point and a police helicopter was alerted to the place to help locate them.

 

The officers responded to the fire with stun grenades. Backup forces have later been called to the scene to help restore law and order.

 

The fight broke out following a rumor circulating in town that a video dishonoring the memory of the late Druze spiritual leaders Amin Tarif had been posted on the internet. The video reportedly shows Tarif's head attached to a pig's body.

 

According to eyewitnesses, shots were fired in the air and several cars were torched in the course of the clashes. No injuries were reported.

 

The leaders of the two communities intervened to stop the fights and the police sent in large forces to block the entrances to Shfaram. One local resident said that the rumor about the video was groundless, and nothing more than "an excuse for a mob looking to pick a fight." However, he added, the tensions in town were running high.

 

On Saturday nine people were injured in town, and one of them sustained serious wounds, during a mass fight that erupted following a dispute over an ATV.

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.17.09, 08:25
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