Fresh Fighting in Tripoli as Syria Studies Request to Return Bodies of Men Slain in Tall Kalakh

Fresh fighting erupted in the northern city of Tripoli on Tuesday after a tense night between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen over the killing of Lebanese men in the Syrian town of Tall Kalakh in an ambush.

While it is not yet clear the number of the Lebanese fighters killed by regime forces in the Syrian border town, the families of the slain men are demanding the authorities to repatriate the bodies and are threatening to take escalatory measures.

Reports have said that around 20 men, among them Palestinians, were ambushed and that several of them were either killed or seized by regime forces, or have sought refuge with the rebel Free Syrian Army.

The fighters, most of them Salafists from North Lebanon, had crossed into Syria to fight alongside the FSA that is battling regime forces in an attempt to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

But long-running sectarian differences between Bab al-Tabbaneh, whose residents are mainly Sunnis and back the revolution, and Jabal Mohsen which is majority Alawite and supports Assad, are threatening to spiral out of control over the Tall Kalakh incident.

Scores of people have been killed and injured in gunfights between the two sides in the past. The latest incident took place in October.

The Lebanese Army has set up checkpoints in the area to prevent any clash amid rumors that Bab al-Tabbaneh families are planning to abduct an Alawite to exchange him with the bodies of the slain fighters.

Despite the deployment, several security incidents took place on Monday and Tuesday. Scores of Energa rockets landed on the rival neighborhoods and unknown assailants riding motorcycles have fired machine guns.

Media reports said that at least one person was injured in Jabal Mohsen.

But in a positive development, Syrian envoy Ali Abdul Karim Ali said his government is studying a request to return the bodies of the men killed in Tall Kalakh for “humanitarian reasons.”

The announcement came a day after Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour communicated the request to Ali.

The ambassador said in his terse statement that he would announce the upcoming steps in coordination with Mansour at a later stage.

Meanwhile, President Michel Suleiman closely followed up the situation in Tripoli on Tuesday. Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji informed him about the latest measures aimed at controlling the situation in the North, a presidential statement said.

Qahwaji told Suleiman that the army was also taking strong measures to prevent arms smuggling and the infiltration of gunmen on the Lebanese-Syrian border, it added.