Fighting Resumes in Bab al-Tabbaneh, Jabal Mohsen as Army Clashes Anew with Gunmen
Clashes renewed Monday afternoon in the northern city of Tripoli after a period of cautious calm that had started in the morning following a night of intermittent fighting.
“Clashes renewed as four shells exploded and volleys of machinegun fire were heard in the vicinity of Tripoli's Souk al-Qameh,” al-Jadeed television reported.
“Two grenades exploded in Bab al-Tabbaneh's Baal al-Darawish and were followed by heavy gunfire and the army is responding with anti-aircraft guns against the sources of fire,” it said.
Meanwhile, LBCI television said clashes renewed between gunmen and the army in Tripoli's Syria Street which separates the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.
“An army post was targeted with an RPG in Tripoli's al-Zahriyeh area near Barrad al-Bissar,” MTV said.
State-run National News Agency said the army closed the international highway that links Tripoli to Akkar near the al-Qasr bakeries in al-Zahriyeh and prevented citizens from passing on it due to “the heavy sniper gunshots that were targeting the highway between the Abou Ali roundabout and the al-Mallouleh bridge.”
"Raed Abou Halab was hit by a bullet to the head in Tripoli's vegetable market," Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) reported.
The child Ammar Shrouq was also wounded in the vegetable market, according to the radio station.
In the morning, NNA said “cautious calm” prevailed in all hotspots as intermittent sniper fire was heard in mainly the rival districts of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.
The army consolidated its deployment in the two areas and carried out patrols in the city's streets. It also erected checkpoints and checked the identities of passers-by.
Tripoli also witnessed limited traffic although most shops and businesses were open in areas far from the districts witnessing clashes, NNA said.
But classes in schools and universities remained suspended to preserve the security of the students, the agency added.
Tripoli Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar rejected attacks on the army after a soldier was killed and several others were injured in different armed assaults on military patrols over the weekend.
Al-Shaar told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that armed forces should strike with an iron fist and arrest the suspects that are tampering with the security of the city.
The gunmen should be held accountable and the state should take the appropriate measures against them, he said.
At least 12 people have been killed and 96 others wounded in four days of clashes in Tripoli, according to NNA.
Overnight, the army announced the death of a soldier when a military patrol in the city was hit by an anti-tank grenade.
The latest fighting, which has also injured at least 50 people, broke out on Thursday after a Jabal Mohsen man was killed by unknown gunmen on a motorbike in central Tripoli.
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