Miqati Urges Tripoli Residents to Exercise Restraint as Cabinet Discusses Saqr Recordings

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Tuesday that the army and security forces have taken all the necessary measures to control the security situation in the northern city of Tripoli and “prevent any attempts to create strife.”

He said during a cabinet session at the Grand Serail: “I call on the residents of Tripoli to exercise restraint and avoid falling victim to attempts to spark unrest in the city.”

On the death of a number of Lebanese fighters in the Syrian border town of Tall Kalakh on Friday, he said: “The Lebanese government will not spare a single effort to reveal their fate.”

He revealed that he had contacted the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Lebanon to that end.

“We renew our call on all Lebanese people to keep the country away from the developments in Syria in order to avoid paying the price of conflicts that we are helpless in controlling,” stated the prime minister.

He therefore reiterated the government policy of disassociation from regional crises “to protect Lebanon and the Lebanese from the repercussions of the Syrian conflict.”

Twenty-two young men, including a Palestinian, were the victims of an ambush carried out by Syrian regime forces on Friday in Tall Kalakh.

Media outlets had conflicting reports about the number of people who died and those who survived the attack.

While the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a group of 30 rebels "were caught in an ambush by government troops in the area of Tall Sarin near the town of Tall Kalakh”, Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) said the ambush left 20 Lebanese men dead, adding that they hail from Akkar's Fnaideq and Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh and al-Mankoubin neighborhoods.

Clashes consequently broke out in Tripoli between the rival Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen over the news of the deaths.

After the cabinet session, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said that the meeting addressed the economic situation in Lebanon, with Miqati urging all sides to halt the political and media rhetoric in order to ensure that the country enjoys a peaceful holiday season.

Asked by reporters if the cabinet tackled the case of MP Oqab Saqr and his contact with the Syrian opposition, the minister replied that the issue was discussed.

Some ministers expressed their opinion over the matter and it was agreed that the General Prosecution and investigations should assume their role in the case, he continued.

Taped conversations of Saqr and Abou Nehman, a “leader in the armed Syrian opposition,” aired last week.

They revealed that the two were carrying out a weapons deal.

General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi tasked on Tuesday the Central Criminal Investigations Bureau with examining the audio recordings.

Daouq added that the next cabinet session will be held on Wednesday, but the location and time of the meeting has not been set yet.

He revealed that a session will be held on December 12 at the Baabda Palace to discuss the funding of the new wages scale.

Voice of Lebanon radio reported that Tuesday's cabinet session had also tackled threats received by Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui by security agencies.

The minister had stated at the Grand Serail that he will address the matter at cabinet.

Sehnaoui has been refusing to hand over to the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau text messages (sms) between the Lebanese people.

Media reports said on Monday that the security agencies filed a request to obtain all the circulating text messages between the Lebanese that occurred two months before the assassination of ISF Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan.

He was killed in a massive car bomb in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district on October 19.