Arrest Warrant Issued against Rifaat Eid, 14 Others in Tripoli

The military judiciary issued on Thursday an arrest warrant in absentia against Arab Democratic Party politburo chief Rifaat Eid days after he was charged with belonging to an armed group, possession of arms and inciting sedition.

The state-run National News Agency also reported that State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged 15 Lebanese and Syrian suspects in the case of Eid.

He also charged 14 others from Bab al-Tabbaneh, including one apprehended suspect, with belonging to an armed group, undermining the state's authority and assaulting civilian and military institutions.

The two cases were referred to the First Military Investigation Judge Riyad Abu Ghida.

On Saturday, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged 12 Lebanese, including Eid, with seeking to carry out terrorist acts and involvement in gunbattles between the rival neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh in the northern city of Tripoli.

Ten suspects, including Eid, are fugitives and only one Lebanese suspect was apprehended.

Rifaat's father, Ali Eid, is wanted for questioning over an August twin car bomb attack against two Sunni mosques in Tripoli that killed 45 people.

Security forces kicked off last week a security plan in Tripoli, seizing arms depots and detaining wanted suspects, who are involved in security chaos in the area.

Even in this deployment, top wanted men fled, including Rifaat and his father, after they were given a warning of the implementation of the plan.

Tripoli witnesses frequent gunbattles between two of the impoverished neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh, which is dominated by Sunnis who support Syrian rebels, and Jabal Mohsen, which is dominated by Alawites, who share the same sect as Syrian President Bashar Assad.

- H. K.

- M. T.