Army Takes Charge in Tripoli after Truce Announced

A ceasefire was announced on Saturday between the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen under the army’s sponsorship after fierce clashes killed and wounded a number of civilians and troops.

The Lebanese army is deployed on the outskirts of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tebbaneh, namely near Syria Street which separates the rival neighborhoods.

Tripoli MPs confirmed, after meeting at MP Mohammed Kabbara’s residence, the commitment to the ceasefire and handing the army the responsibility of restoring order in the city.

The gatherers denounced any security breach in Tripoli, stressing on the importance of coexistence and safeguarding the civil peace and rejecting sedition.

They announced their “full cooperation” with the army, which is the only side qualified to maintain peace in the area.

The meeting was held in the presence of State Minister Ahmed Karami, MPs: Samir al-Jisr, Moein al-Merehbi and representatives from the army and the security services and religious leaders.

Gun battles erupted on Friday shortly after Friday prayers in the northern city between the dominant Alawite Tripoli neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen and mainly Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh.

Voice of Lebanon radio reported that four people were injured during the clashes on Saturday.

However, a security official told Agence France Presse that three died and 23 were wounded, adding that seven soldiers were among those wounded in the fighting.

A 17-year-old girl died of her wounds later.

Ten soldiers were among those wounded in the fighting, among them a sergeant whose wounds were critical.

The two sides were firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades at each other in the bloodiest clashes since last June when six people were killed in the wake of demonstrations against the Syrian government.

In a statement, the Lebanese army said that it will reinforce its security measures in the area, vowing to confront those who are meddling with security “regardless of the party they belong to.”

“The army conducted raids in places where clashes erupted and arrested a number of gunmen, and confiscated weapons they carried,” the statement added.

It stressed that the “delicate situation that the country is passing through will not provide cover to those who are tampering with the country’s stability and security.”

The army said one soldier was in critical condition.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel meanwhile, voiced fears that the clashes may be the beginning of strife in Lebanon as one form of the repercussions the unrest in Syria will have on the country.

“This situation requires decisive positions from the president and various political leaders,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the National News Agency reported that a rally was staged near Tripoli Serail calling for “Arms-Free Tripoli.”

The protesters condemned the clashes that erupted in the city, demanding the cabinet and the parliament to support the army to take the necessary measures to halt the riots and gun battles.

The Sunni-majority coastal city has in the past few years been the scene of intense clashes between Sunni supporters of the anti-Syrian opposition and Alawite Muslims loyal to a Hizbullah-led alliance backed by Iran and Syria.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is fighting an unprecedented revolt against his regime, hails from the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.