Army Arrest Fugitive Military Soldier in Tripoli

The army detained on Saturday fugitive soldier Mustapha Seif in the Wadi Nahle area in the northern port city of Tripoli's al-Beddawi neighborhood.

Media reports said that an army unit raided the residence of Seif, who is also known as Abou Alaa, and arrested him.

Activists said that Seif had rejected to join his military battalion that was located in the northeastern border town of Arsal two weeks ago.

The army engaged in heavy clashes with the militants after they overran Arsal in August and took with them soldiers and policemen as hostages.

But the military does not have enough capabilities to crash the jihadists and rescue the captives.

Three of the so-called Arsal hostages were executed in September and August – two of them were beheaded while one was shot dead.

Meanwhile, unknown assailants opened fire at dawn on Saturday at an army post in Tripoli's wheat market.

There are fears that the clashes in Arsal with militants would ignite the rival Tripoli neighborhood's of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.