The Phalange Party voiced on Monday its solidarity with the residents of the northern city of Tripoli in light of the eruption of clashes between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, calling on the city leaderships to take a unified stand on the violence.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “The government should enforce an emergency plan that allows the military forces to take control of security throughout Lebanon.”

A meeting was held on Monday at the Tripoli residence of Mustaqbal MP Mohammed Kabbara to tackle the latest clashes in the city, which the lawmaker said is the product of a foreign conspiracy.

He said: “The political authority and Higher Defense Council are both conspiring against Tripoli.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat rejected attempts at portraying Lebanon as a “Salafist hub” for arresting those who support the Syrian revolution.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “Some security agencies in Lebanon are being prodded by Syria to harass the supporters of the Syrian revolution.”

France on Monday condemned the violence in the northern city of Tripoli and urged the Lebanese “not to import the Syrian conflict.”

“France calls on all the Lebanese to put their country’s interest above all else and to give priority to dialogue, national unity and civil peace, in order to avoid importing a conflict they have nothing to do with into their country,” French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

Military Investigative Judge Nabil Wehbi on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Salafist activist Shadi al-Mawlawi, whose arrest in Tripoli on Saturday by General Security agents had sparked three days of deadly violence in the northern city.

Alongside Mawlawi, the judge also interrogated Hamza Mahmoud Tarabay and Qatari national Abdul Aziz al-Atiya. The two were released on bail while Atiya was also banned from traveling.

President Michel Suleiman held talks with various officials on the clashes that erupted in the northern city of Tripoli over the weekend.

He said after meeting Interior Minister Marwan Charbel: “All sides must be aware of the dangerousness of creating instability in Lebanon.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s sources denied on Monday a report that Syria had pressured the PM to give up a decision by Lebanese authorities to steer the country clear of the uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

In remarks to several radio stations, sources close to Miqati said: “The policy of distancing ourselves (from the uprising in Syria) is still on.”

The Higher Defense Council on Sunday discussed the security situation in unrest-hit Tripoli, lauding the role of security agencies in “preserving security, busting terrorist networks, freeing abductees and curbing the trafficking of arms across the Lebanese areas.”

Speaking after an emergency meeting at the Baabda Palace, the council’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Adnan Merheb, stressed the conferees’ keenness on preserving civil peace in the country, noting that “to this end, the council has given the necessary instructions to the military and security institutions and specified the missions of the ministries, administrations and relevant authorities.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Sunday stressed “the need to reach a political solution to the problem” in unrest-hit Tripoli that would “spare the army a confrontation on Tripoli and keep it away from political disputes,” warning of “traps set up by the Syrian regime.”

According to a statement issued by the PSP, Jumblat contacted several security and political officials, urging “the release of Mr. Shadi al-Mawlawi and the addressing of the situation according to the legal norms, to prevent the recurrence of illegal arrests by sides that lack jurisdiction.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Sunday that a decision was taken not to provide political cover for any security violator in the northern city of Tripoli, the scene of deadly clashes since Saturday.

Miqati said the decision was taken following consultations with all the political, religious, security and social figures in Tripoli.