Lebanese supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad fired heavy machine guns and lobbed mortar shells at each other Thursday in some of the worst fighting in the port city of Tripoli in years.CAIRO – Egypt’s army chief has warned of “the collapse of the state” if the political crisis roiling the nation for nearly a week continues.
The warning by Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, also the defense minister, comes as the country sinks deeper into chaos and lawlessness. Attempts by the Islamist president to stem a wave of political violence appear to have made no headway.
Some 60 people have been killed in the unrest that began last Thursday.
El-Sissi’s warning came in an address to military academy cadets on Tuesday. His comments were posted on the armed forces’ official Facebook page.
“The continuation of the conflict between the different political forces and their differences over how the country should be run could lead to the collapse of the state and threaten future generations,” he said.
