Eid Has Reservations Over Army Raids, Berri Hints 5th Column Involved in Tripoli Fighting
The head of the Arab Democratic Party, Rifaat Eid, has expressed reservations over raids carried out by the Lebanese army in his stronghold in the northern city of Tripoli as Speaker Nabih Berri hinted that a fifth column was seeking to create tension in the area.
In remarks to An Nahar daily, Eid said the army made unusual steps in the neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen on Tuesday by “raiding our homes and ransacking them and we haven't made a move against it.”
But Eid accused the military of not taking similar measures in the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh. “We have reservations on such a behavior although we understand the way the army is acting.”
Eid, who is from the Alawite sect of Syrian President Bashar Assad, also lashed out at the National Islamic Gathering, a group of politicians and religious figures headed by MP Mohammed Kabbara.
The Gathering gave the army and security forces on Tuesday 48 hours to respond to the snipers and control the situation in the city which witnessed in the past days the 17th round of fighting that has left scores of casualties.
The violence is tied to the war in Syria, where a Sunni-led uprising is fighting to overthrow the regime of Assad, who is an Alawite.
An Nahar said that Eid has held phone conversations with Berri and leaders in the speaker's Amal movement in addition to Hizbullah.
It quoted him as saying that his party was ready to cooperate with the army in its deployment in Jabal Mohsen.
The military's move in entering buildings that are housing snipers in the neighborhood is expected to be followed by similar measures in Bab al-Tabbaneh.
But Berri warned in remarks to As Safir newspaper that a fifth column might be behind the sniper attacks and the gunbattles with the objective of creating tension as soon as a cautious clam reigns in.
The situation in the capital of the North “is no longer acceptable,” he said.
The speaker's remarks came as Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the gunmen in both neighborhoods were acting on their own and no longer taking orders from politicians.
An Nahar quoted sources as saying that 90 percent of armed men were working independently after Salafist groups entered the city and engaged in the battles.
They said the army's raids of the apartments housing the snipers were not part of a new plan.
Soldiers “are using the appropriate weapons to avoid endangering the lives of people” in the city, the sources added.
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