Clashes Renew in the Evening in Tripoli as Army Stages Raids to Arrest Gunmen

Clashes between rival neighborhoods renewed on Monday evening in the northern city of Tripoli and the army staged raids to arrest gunmen, after sniper fire wounded seven people during the day.

“The fighting has resumed on the fighting frontiers of al-Mallouleh, al-Mankoubin, al-Riva and Jabal Mohsen,” state-run National News Agency reported.

The sounds of gunshots and rocket-propelled grenades were being heard in areas that are relatively far from the conflict zone, according to NNA.

The army was responding with medium-caliber machineguns against all sources of gunfire.

Army troops also staged raids to arrest gunmen near the Tinal Mosque in the city, the agency said.

Intermittent gunfire and sniper attacks targeted the international highway and did not stop all day, according to NNA.

“The Tripoli international highway in the Bab al-Tabbaneh area is being targeted by intense sniper fire and crossing it is risky,” NNA said.

In the afternoon, two army soldiers were critically wounded at the al-Mallouleh roundabout while heading to their residence places in Akkar from Beirut.

Two civilians identified as Ali al-Hayek and Mohammed al-Qaddour were also wounded in the same area.

The casualty toll from three days of clashes has risen to 10 dead and 100 wounded, NNA said.

Traffic has almost come to a standstill and most shops, schools and universities remained shut in the hotspots, according to the agency.

But the areas that lie far from the fighting witnessed bumper-to-bumper traffic after the gunbattles subsided, the agency said.

Around 200 members of the Internal Security Forces arrived to the Tripoli Serail and more were expected later in the day.

The city's rival neighborhoods witnessed overnight violent clashes that involved the use of machineguns, rocket propelled grenades and mortars that even reached Tripoli's safer areas.

The latest round of gunbattles resumed on Saturday when a resident of Jabal Mohsen was shot in his feet.

A similar sectarian attack had taken place on Thursday.

The fighting is raging between Bab al-Tabbaneh, which is mostly Sunni and backs the revolution against Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Jabal Mohsen, whose residents are of Assad's Alawite sect.

The army said Sunday that it has arrested eight suspects and confiscated arms and ammunition during raids in several hideouts.