Tripoli Clashes Intensify as Eid Declares All-Out Battle and Kabbara Demands His Arrest

Clashes renewed in a fierce manner in Tripoli on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least four people dead and several others wounded, as the Arab Democratic Party declared an open battle and warned that it “will not let Tripoli sleep.”

The National News Agency said Mohammed Rashid Soltani, 30, was killed and two other people were wounded, identifying them as Yehia Seif Obeid, 81, and Khaled Mohammed Mohammed, 33.

Meanwhile, Future TV reported that “Abu Ridwan al-Asmar, the muezzin of Bab al-Tabbaneh's al-Jihad Mosque, has died of his wounds."

And as MTV said "Mohammed Mahmoud al-Asmar was killed by sniper gunfire in Tripoli," Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) said "Ahmed al-Bunni was killed at Jabal Mohsen's al-Amerkan Square after receiving a bullet in the neck."

As the situation deteriorated, a mortar hit an army base on al-Ghoraba Street while another fell on an army base in al-Zahriyeh, leaving a man from al-Tiba family wounded.

“Multiple rocket launchers were deployed in Jabal Mohsen as a prelude to escalation," Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) reported.

Clashes also intensified in al-Baqqar, al-Qobbeh and al-Mankoubin as Bab al-Tabbaneh's residents started evacuating their homes and the army withdrew the vehicles that were deployed on Bab al-Tabbaneh's highway near al-Qasr Bakery.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said Mariam al-Saqqa, Issa Thawra and Ali Ahmed were wounded when a mortar hit al-Omari Street.

On the political front, Arab Democratic Party media officer Abdul Latif Saleh said: “We will show them who are the cubs and lions of Rifaat Eid and we will cut off the hand that attempts to target Jabal Mohsen.”

“The same as our children cried, Tripoli's children will cry and they will see our actions in the coming hours,” Saleh threatened in an interview on al-Mayadeen television.

In another interview with LBCI, Saleh said: “We have entered the fight and we will not let Tripoli sleep.”

Meanwhile, Rifaat Eid, the party's secretary-general, wrote on his Facebook page: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and the initiator is the aggressor … Enough is enough, now you will hear the roar of Jabal Mohsen.”

Later on Tuesday, Tripoli's dignitaries held a meeting at MP Mohammed Kabbara's residence.

"Does the state want to defend Tripoli or not?" Kabbara said, reciting a statement issued after the meeting.

"The threats of Assad's party (Arab Democratic Party), which were later executed, are a blatant crime that is tantamount to mass murder against an entire people and they deserve the death penalty. Rifaat Eid and Assad's shabiha must be arrested," Kabbara added.

"How can some shabiha kill the city's residents without being held accountable?" he went on to say.

He noted that the chiefs of security agencies know that "Assad's party in Baal Mohsen is the aggressor."

"So how can they be lenient with the murderer and firm with the victim?" added Kabbara.

"Tripoli calls on the state to restore its security and stability and defend it against the shabiha of (Syrian President Bashar) Assad and (Hizbullah chief Sayyed) Hassan Nasrallah who are killing the Lebanese and Syrian peoples," he said.