Deadly shooting rocks Beirut as tensions over blast probe erupt

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Lebanon October 13, 2021. The Arabic reads: 'The right to justice'. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Tensions over a probe into last year's massive blast in Beirut burst into the worst street violence in more than a decade on Thursday, with six Shi'ites shot dead and gun battles reviving memories of the country's 1975-90 civil war.

Bullets bounced off buildings and people ran for cover during bursts of gunfire which lasted several hours on what was once a frontline in the war. At one school, teachers instructed infant children to lie face down on the ground with their hands on their heads, a Reuters witness said.