Rifi: Rifaat Eid in California, No New Violence in Tripoli
Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi confirmed Sunday that Arab Democratic Party leader Rifaat Eid left the country as an unprecedented security plan got underway in Tripoli, reassuring that the northern city will not witness any new round of sectarian violence.
“From now on, there won't be any new round of violence in Tripoli and (former) Prime Minister Saad Hariri is seriously thinking of turning Syria Street into a … piece of art, similar to what martyr premier Rafik Hariri did in Beirut,” Rifi said.
“Military conflict, fighting, wars and shelling will be things that belong to the past,” Rifi added, during a reconciliation between the al-Aswad and al-Lisa families which he sponsored at his Tripoli residence.
The justice minister, who had served as the chief of Internal Security Forces for several years, stressed that “the security plan will continue and the residents of Tripoli and the North will support it.”
“Most fugitives have become outside the country and according to confirmed information, Rifaat Eid is also outside the country, contrary to what some reports have claimed,” added Rifi.
"Rifaat Eid was spotted in Orange County, California" in the United States, he revealed.
Turning to the issue of the presidential election, the minister emphasized that there is no “excuse” to delay the vote.
“I tell the Lebanese that we don't have any security excuse or any other excuse that prevent holding this constitutional election,” Rifi underlined.
On Saturday, Arab Democratic Party spokesman Abdul Latif Saleh was detained by the army for several hours after he told al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that Eid was still in Tripoli.
The military judiciary had issued on Tuesday an arrest warrant in absentia against Eid, days after he was charged with belonging to an armed group, possession of arms and inciting sedition.
Security forces kicked off last week a security plan in Tripoli, seizing arms depots and detaining wanted suspects, who are involved in security chaos in the area.
Tripoli has witnessed around 20 sectarianly-motivated gunbattles in recent years between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen. The war in Syria has played a major role in aggravating the tensions between the two districts.
Y.R.
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