Army Clashes with Bab al-Tabbaneh Gunmen, Raids Arms Depot in Tripoli

The army clashed with a number of gunmen on Wednesday evening as it carried out raids in the Tripoli neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh, after arresting three people and raiding an arms and explosives depot during the day.

“Clashes erupted between the army and gunmen in Bab al-Tabbaneh amid raids in Khan al-Askar," OTV reported.

Several other TV networks said gunfire was heard in the area as al-Jadeed said “fighting broke out between the army and gunmen in Syria Street and behind al-Rashwani Mosque in Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the army announced the arrest of a number of suspects in Tripoli linked to the various security incidents that have taken place in the northern city.

It said in a statement that it raided a weapons storehouse in the city, arresting its owner S.Z.

Army units confiscated various weapons, ammunition, and rockets at the storehouse, as well as material used to manufacture explosives as part of the ongoing security plan being implemented in the city.

In addition, the army had arrested a suspect, R.A., in the al-Baraniyeh area in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood in the northern city.

He is held on charges of opening fire at an army patrol.

Troops also arrested A.A. and A.M. in Tripoli's al-Qobbeh neighborhood on charges of carrying out sectarian attacks, said the Army communique.

They also seized a number of ammunition at A.M.'s residence.

The army kicked off its security plan in Tripoli last week.

It is aimed at putting an end to the rounds of clashes between the rival impoverished neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.

Tensions between the two districts go back decades but have been exacerbated by the war in Syria, where Alawite President Bashar Assad faces Sunni rebels seeking to topple him.

Successive rounds of violence between the neighborhoods have killed dozens of people and brought parts of the city to a standstill.

The implementation of the security plan was faced with protests and attacks on Tuesday where angry men tossed several hand grenades in al-Baraniyeh as residents shortly blocked the roads of al-Dabagha and wheat market with burning tires.

The grenade attack and the road closure were aimed at stopping the army from carrying out raids to arrest suspects involved in dozens of clashes that the city had witnessed in the past years.

M.T./Y.R.