Saudi Urges Lebanese to End Syria-Linked Fighting
Saudi Arabia on Thursday urged Lebanon's people to act "wisely" and end their fighting in the city of Tripoli, wracked by a wave of bloody violence linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria.
Riyadh was following "with deep concern the bloody events taking place in Tripoli... that benefit nobody but those who do not mean well for Lebanon and its people," said Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
Saudi Arabia, a powerhouse in the region, "urges all parties involved to put an end to this fighting and act wisely," said Prince Saud, quoted by the official SPA news agency.
He voiced the Sunni-dominated kingdom's support for "strengthening the authority of the Lebanese state and its control over all its territories".
Riyadh affirmed its "confidence in the Lebanese government's keenness to take all measures that would preserve security and stability for the Lebanese people in all their sects and beliefs," said the minister.
A new wave of Syria-linked clashes between Sunni and Alawite residents of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli has killed eight people since the weekend.
The confrontations came after a brief lull, following a flare-up last month in which 31 people died and more than 200 were wounded.
The violence is tied to the conflict in Syria, where a Sunni-led uprising is fighting to overthrow the regime of President Bashar Assad, who belongs to the Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The fighting in Tripoli, which has flared sporadically since the beginning of the Syria conflict in March 2011, has largely been confined to the Alawite-populated Jabal Mohsen and the Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh.
06 June 2013, 13:19
45
Thank you Saudi, now all you gotta do is stop funding the extremists in Tripoli to maintain some credibility.
06 June 2013, 15:05
00
But the lunatics of al-Mustaqbal and their al-Qaeda - Akkar and Tripoli Brigades are winning in Syria, aren't they? And so now is not the time to end their endeavor. Plus, I heard that the virgins are being replenished as we speak. So, alehom, warriors. ya mayet ya ma2toul! Say what?
06 June 2013, 15:06
21
a few saudi material and personnel investments have just gotten vaporized in Qusair, time to rethink.
06 June 2013, 15:17
23
Don't Shiites go on pilgrimage in KSA? The Lebanese ones should be bloqued on the borders..... Some diplomatic pressure is much needed.
06 June 2013, 16:08
15
i think that the kingdom of terrorism is starting to get scared because they bet on the wrong side to win...
06 June 2013, 16:44
14
Is this guy for real
1. he says we should stop fighting in Tripoli
2. he says to act wisely
and he and his govermant do just the opposite
1. arm the Syrian rebels transporting arms from Tripoli
2. tries to choke the Lebanese economy by advising its citizens not to
Lebanon.
3. Incite his allies in Lebanon not to agree on anything for the sake of
disagreeing and status quo
06 June 2013, 16:55
02
Saudi offered to pay one million dollars to each non-Shia Lebanese in a bid to bolster equality and balance. "We are afraid of them, but if we pay them off, that will look like we're cowards. So we will pay everybody else, and see if that helps."
06 June 2013, 17:50
02
Despite all my reservations toward the royal family, the are behaving in Lebanon as a friend. Their national interest is to pour in money into Lebanon and build up rival militia to the Hizb and sink the Hizb in the Lebanese mess. With poverty rate among Sunnis in North Lebanon at over 50% and with the victimhood feeling prevailing there, it would be very eady. Contrast that to Iran which ordered the Hizb to invade in Syria in support of a monsterous regime - all consequences to Lebanon damned.
06 June 2013, 17:51
22
No Josh - Your comments are mostly filled with bigotry and hatred and that is why they are deleted. Your comments are worse than those of the KKK.
07 June 2013, 08:49
01
it is very difficult ...when u lose a bet and place all ur powers.. and at the end ..poooffff. hehehehehehehehe hahahahahaha..ALL GONE TO WASTE !!!!!!ya 7aram. b3ed ill khier la 2edem .....
