Cautious Tripoli Calm as al-Shaar Urges Ulemas to Unite their Stance
A cautious calm prevailed in the northern port city of Tripoli on Sunday after two days of heavy gunbattles between two neighborhoods left at least three people dead and 23 injured.
Media reports said there was no breach of the ceasefire that was reached on Saturday between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh, which is Sunni, and the dominant Alawite Jabal Mohsen.
Only gunfire during the funeral of one of the victims stirred panic among the residents on Sunday morning. But they soon discovered that the gunbattles hadn’t renewed.
The ceasefire was reached at a meeting held between Tripoli lawmakers at the residence of MP Mohammed Kabbara.
The meeting was held in the presence of State Minister Ahmed Karami, MPs Samir al-Jisr, Moeen al-Merehbi and representatives of the army, the security services and religious leaders.
They denounced any security breach in their city and stressed the importance of coexistence and safeguarding civil peace.
Meanwhile, the army carried out raids in the two neighborhoods and arrested scores of people involved in the gunbattles.
It also seized weapons.
High-ranking security sources told An Nahar daily published Sunday that the incident in Tripoli was partly a message to Premier Najib Miqati that the city will not enjoy calm over the Syrian crisis.
The gunbattles were a clear indication on how the Syrian regime’s bloody crackdown on protestors since last March is enflaming emotions in Lebanon. Syrian President Bashar Assad belongs to the Alawite sect.
Tripoli Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar headed a meeting of the Tripoli and North Ulemas “to set our stance from all the issues particularly of what’s going on around us in Syria.”
“We are looking into finding a final solution” to the clashes between the Sunnis and Alawites in the city’s two neighborhoods, he said despite stressing that there couldn’t be any ultimate resolution as long as arms are widespread in the North.
“No arms should be outside the control of the state,” al-Shaar stressed. “The loyalty of each party to the nation would be limited” if other countries and not Lebanon become a priority for them.
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