Miqati Rejects Attempts by Mobs to Ignite Tripoli

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati considered on Wednesday that the disputes in the northern city of Tripoli between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen no longer exist.

“We are witnessing attempts by some mobs to control the city,” Miqati said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper.

“This is totally rejected,” he said.

The northern city has seen several rounds of deadly fighting between rival neighborhoods as a result of the spillover of the Syrian war.

Miqati stressed that the state will put an end to the deteriorating situation in the city.

A security meeting was held on Tuesday at the Grand Serail headed by Miqati.

The meeting addressed the situation in the northern city.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel denied rumors saying that Tripoli will witness security incidents after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

However, later in the day protests broke out in Tripoli over a ruling against the imam of the Amira Mosque over his links to the 2008 bombing in the city's Tall area.

The Judicial Council sentenced on Tuesday the Imam of the Amira mosque Sheikh Tarek Merhi to 15 years in jail without the possibility to appeal the ruling over his link to the Tall bombing in 2008.

Merhi and others were sentenced to 15 years in jail over their connection to the attack.