One Soldier Killed, 8 Wounded in Ongoing Tripoli Clashes
Gunbattles rocked the northern city of Tripoli on Wednesday, leaving one soldier dead and eight others wounded.
The clashes, which also injured four civilians, resumed in the morning after a relatively calm night as the Lebanese army came under heavy gunfire.
"Military conscript Hussein Hamad Saad died of his wounds on Wednesday afternoon,” an army communique announced.
"Saad was injured while performing his duty of preserving Tripoli's security,” it remarked.
In another statement, the military institution explained that a troop carrier was hit at 6:40pm with a Rocket Propelled Grenade launched by gunmen in Tripoli's al-Tabbaneh-Hay al-Bazar area in the city.
The attack left three soldiers injured, among them two with severe wounds.
Meanwhile, another soldier was wounded when an army vehicle came under fire at 7:35pm at the Abou Ali roundabout in the northern city.
"Gunmen positioned in Bab al-Tabbaneh's vegetable market area fired an RPG at an army patrol, wounding four troops,” the communique added.
Wednesday's fighting mainly took place in the hotspots of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, two impoverished neighborhoods that are the scenes of frequent sectarian clashes linked to the war in Syria.
Fighters used RPGs and automatic rifles.
The army however responded to the sources of fire.
The highway linking Tripoli with the district of Akkar was blocked as schools and universities were closed amid limited traffic.
One person was killed and several others were injured on Tuesday, raising the death toll to seven after five days of clashes.
The gunbattles erupted last Friday when a Jabal Mohsen man was shot dead in nearby al-Qobbeh.
Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, who on Wednesday held talks with Tripoli officials, told reporters that several measures will be taken to bring back a normal life to the city's residents.
“We should restore the trust between the citizens and security agencies,” he said.
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