Troops guard tense local voting in south Lebanon
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Thousands of Lebanese troops have been sent to the south to try to prevent municipal elections from triggering violence between political rivals. Sunday's voting is most tense in the Christian enclave of Jezzine and in the coastal town of Sidon, where government-backed lists are competing against opposition candidates.
In other areas, rival Shiite Muslim groups Hezbollah and Amal came to a consensus about which candidates would run in which districts, limiting the prospects of trouble. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called on voters to go to the polls despite concern that an annual Israeli civil defense drill could set off border clashes. (AP)
