TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Residents of the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood blocked Syria Street Friday to protest their exclusion from the Higher Relief Committee’s compensation list for damage caused by recent clashes.

Army troops fired into the air to break up the protest, which broke out when a number of residents discovered that their names did not appear on lists of people scheduled to receive compensation after the last round of clashes between Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh.

Roads in the area were finally re-opened for motorists after the demonstrators dispersed.

During the sit-in, protesters attacked local journalist Fathi Masri and smashed his camera. Journalists and correspondents based in north Lebanon denounced the attack and reiterated their call to avoid turning the media into victims of tensions.

The journalists asked the police to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Clashes between the Sunni-majority neighborhood of Bab al-Tebbaneh and the Alawite-majority neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen lasted several days in December, killing 17 and wounding over 100.

The fighting came to an end as the Army implemented a security plan.