Phalange Warns of 'Point of No Return' in Tripoli, Urges U.N. Resolution on Refugees
The Phalange Party on Monday warned that the situation in the clashes-hit city of Tripoli might soon reach the “point of no return” if left unaddressed, urging security agencies not to be “lenient in implementing the security plan” and to rescue it from the hands of “gunmen and warlords in the two rival neighborhoods.”
In a statement issued after the weekly meeting of its political bureau, the party stressed its solidarity with the city's residents “who are only aspiring to live in a stable and safe environment.”
Commenting on the shootings that targeted residents from Jabal Mohsen prior to the current round of fighting, the Phalange Party said it rejects “the policy of vengeance, which would not have taken place had it not been for the absence and hesitation of the state.”
A group claiming to represent the families of the victims of the deadly blasts that hit two mosques in the city has claimed responsibility for the attacks, accusing authorities of being lax in arresting and trying the perpetrators of the bombings.
The party also rejected “the rhetoric of warlords in Jabal Mohsen, who have threatened to impose a siege on Tripoli and its residents.”
The conferees said the only feasible solution is uniting all security agencies under the command of the army, “which is capable of assuming the mission in the presence of the needed political decision.”
At least 10 people have been killed and 100 others wounded in fierce clashes between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen since Saturday.
Separately, the party called on Lebanese authorities to seek a U.N. Security Council resolution on the issue of the Syrian refugee crisis on the country.
"After the numbers of Syrian refugees exceeded 1.5 million and after the situation turned into a major crisis at the security, health, humanitarian and economic levels, the Phalange Party calls on authorities to ... demand the issuance of a Security Council resolution stipulating the creation of camps to host Syrian refugees inside Syrian territory or on the border between the two countries."
The proposed resolution also involves "establishing safe humanitarian corridors inside Syria with the aim of halting the refugee influx" and "creating a trust fund aimed at confronting the economic and social repercussions of the Syrian crisis."
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