Implementation of Security Plan in Tripoli Awaiting Higher Defense Council Meeting

A security plan was established to restore calm in the northern city of Tripoli after the death toll rose to 25 as clashes flared again,

Minister of Social Affairs Rashid Derbas revealed in comments published in An Nahar newspaper on Saturday that a comprehensive security was established and will be discussed during a meeting for the Higher Defense Council.

The meeting is set to be held on Monday.

For his part, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi told the newspaper that “negotiations made a progress to reach a cease fire in the northern city.”

He noted that President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Premier Tammam Salam are leading endeavors to restore calm in the city.

Rifi noted that a successful security plan should be reached in Tripoli to restore stability, those who were harmed should receive compensations and a development roadmap should be launched to revive the city's economy and social situation.

Clashes intensified on Friday between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen as the death toll from nine days of fighting rose to at least 25 and 175 wounded.

Tensions between the two districts go back decades, but have been exacerbated by the conflict in Syria, where President Bashar Assad, an Alawite, is battling a Sunni-led uprising.

The latest clashes began last Thursday after the death of a resident from Jabal Mohsen.

The clashes are linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria. Jabal Mohsen residents are Alawites from Syrian President Bashar Assad's sect, while Bab al-Tabbaneh is majority Sunni.

The rebels seeking to topple Assad in the three-year-old war are Sunnis.