Army Deploys Heavily in Bab al-Tabbaneh, Seizes Arms Depots as 162 Arrested

The army deployed heavily in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood in the northern coastal city of Tripoli on Monday and detained a number of militants, who have engaged in deadly battles with the military since Friday.

The military said in a communique that troops found several arms depots and a factory for manufacturing bombs during raids in Bab al-Tabbaneh.

“Army units are carrying out their operation in Tripoli and nearby areas. They entered the hub of the terrorist groups, detaining several, while others fled,” the army added.

It remarked that the militants planted bombs in residential areas, in particular around Abdullah bin Massoud mosque.

The army command is determined to end the “abnormal” situation in Tripoli and crush militants, the state-run National News Agency quoted the army command as saying earlier on Monday.

“The military operations will continue in Tripoli. There will be no truce,” NNA said.

The army denied in its statement carrying out any settlement with the armed groups, accusing “some politicians, who were harmed by the army's success to eradicate those groups, of exploiting the matter politically.”

“Army units will deploy heavily in the area, implement strict security measures, pursuit fugitives and raid suspicious areas.”

The army command ruled out to NNA that a ceasefire took hold in Tripoli, despite a humanitarian truce to evacuate civilians.

The army's comments come amid calls by the Muslim Scholars Committee, Tripoli lawmakers and local officials for an immediate ceasefire.

The three-day deadly battles left scores of soldiers, civilians and militants killed and injured.

The NNA reported on Monday that calm prevailed in Tripoli as the army heavily deployed in the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh, carrying out raids in search for militants linked to Shadi al-Mawlawi and Ousama Mansour.

Mawlawi and Mansour are both fugitives and are reportedly taking refuge in Tripoli.

The troops met no immediate resistance as they moved into Bab al-Tabbaneh, where the militants were nowhere to be seen.

Troops carried out house-to-house searches as they advanced and made several weapons seizures. Only sporadic gunfire could be heard.

Later in the day, Tripoli's dignitaries held a meeting at MP Samir al-Jisr's residence, during which they “lauded the support of the city's residents for the security plan, the thing that refuted all claims that Tripoli backs extremism.”

“The conferees condemned all armed and verbal attacks against the army, especially that it is confronting extremists, and any mistakes during practice should be reported to the security chiefs, away from any polemics or unjust accusations,” Jisr said after the meeting.

“Addressing extremism cannot only happen through the use of force, but rather through tackling the reasons that create poverty,” he added.

“Economic development plans must be quickly launched and a specialized team must be tasked with studying the phenomenon of extremism in the city,” the MP said, reciting a statement.

Al-Jisr noted that Bab al-Tabbaneh's residents played an important role by “letting the gunmen know that their acts are not condoned, which sped up the military solution.”

In the evening, the army said its forces were continuing to “reinforce their deployment in the Bab al-Tabbaneh district and all neighborhoods that witnessed clashes between the army and the terrorist groups.”

It also revealed that “162 terrorists have been arrested” since Friday in Tripoli, Akkar and Minieh.

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.

Dozens of homes and shops burned down as the army rained heavy mortar fire on the militants who had holed up in Bab al-Tabbaneh after launching an unprecedented assault in Tripoli's central market district on Friday.

Residents who had spent the night with relatives or in makeshift accommodation in schools or public offices were still too scared to return to their homes.

Even in areas far from the fighting, the streets were empty, with people too fearful to go out.

There had been chaotic scenes during the night as people of all ages fled their ravaged neighborhood.

The authorities announced that schools and universities would remain closed across Tripoli on Monday because of the violence.

The army has also come under growing attack by Sunnis who accuse it of colluding with Hizbullah in its intervention in the Syrian conflict on the side of the regime.

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.

H.K.

G.K.