Berri Voices Fear over Situation in Tripoli, Accuses Politicians of Deterioration
Speaker Nabih Berri expressed concern on Monday over the situation in the northern coastal city of Tripoli, stressing that “security can only be implemented by using force.”
“The developments in Tripoli didn't come as a surprise. They are the normal result of incitement speech and the proliferation of arms,” Berri's visitors quoted him as saying in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper.
He pointed out that “the main problem is some politicians.”
The army has vowed to crush the militants despite engaging in three days of heavy clashes in Tripoli.
The deadly gunbattles erupted on Friday at the city's historic market, which is a major tourist attraction, spreading to Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood on Sunday.
An informal humanitarian truce sought the evacuation of civilians.
The battle between the Lebanese army and extremists in northern Lebanon was widely expected after members of the Islamic State group and al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, launched several attacks over the past weeks in areas on the border with Syria.
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