Miqati: There is a Conspiracy to Force Army out of Tripoli
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Thursday the need for the army to respond firmly to all security violations that are targeting the northern city of Tripoli.
He said: “There is a conspiracy to force the army out of Tripoli and leave the city as a battlefield.”
He made his remarks after holding contacts with a number political and security officials over the unrest in the city.
“Gunmen should be dealt with firmly regardless of their affiliations, especially since the rockets have been used in the recent round of fighting,” he added.
“The developments in Tripoli are a crime against its residence. It has become a disaster zone as the unrest there has crossed all red lines,” said the caretaker premier.
In addition, Miqati called on the residents “to take a stand and put an end to the mass suicide in Tripoli, which is a city that deserves life.”
“We have no choice but to depend on the army in order to halt this violence that it is destroying Tripoli's future,” he continued.
“All attempts to target the army are an attempt to target civil peace,” he stated.
“All sides must cooperate with the army in order to restore calm in Lebanon because the ongoing futile battles will have dire consequences on the whole of Lebanon, not just Tripoli,” Miqati noted.
He later held talks a meeting with caretaker Ministers Ahmed and Faisal Karami, MPs Samir al-Jisr and Mohammed Kabbara, and caretaker Minister Mohammed al-Safadi's representative Ahmed al-Safadi, who all hail from the city.
At least six people were killed in Tripoli overnight, as rival neighborhoods clashed using for the first time different caliber mortars in addition to flares.
The latest round of clashes brought the death toll to at least 12 and the number of wounded to at least 140.
The battles that engulfed the city for a fifth day, kept schools and most companies and markets closed.
The clashes are taking place mainly between the neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh, which supports the Syrian uprising, and Jabal Mohsen, which supports the Syrian regime.
Source: Naharnet
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