France Strongly Condemns ‘Syria-Related’ Tripoli Clashes
France strongly condemned on Wednesday the clashes that erupted in the northern city of Tripoli between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.
The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “The clashes are the result of historic disputes that have only been highlighted due to the developments in Syria.”
“We are closely monitoring the developments in Lebanon,” it said, expressing its concern with the frequency of the clashes.
Clashes had erupted in Tripoli earlier in 2012 over the arrest of Islamist Shadi al-Mawlawi.
The clashes between Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen broke out again on Monday over a personal dispute, which spiraled into fighting between the two sides.
France hoped that “a conflict, not related to Lebanon” would not be spread to its territories, said the statement in reference to the Syrian crisis.
The National News Agency said that seven people have been killed and over 70 wounded in the fighting.
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