Saniora to Tripoli Officials: Al-Mustaqbal Rejects Violence

Al-Mustaqbal movement rejects violence and gives its political backing to the army to thwart any attempt to create instability, al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora told personalities in the northern city of Tripoli.

Saniora, who returned from a vacation abroad, held a series of phone conversations with Premier Najib Miqati, Tripoli lawmakers and Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar, his sources told An Nahar on Saturday.

The former prime minister stated that al-Mustaqbal movement and the bloc reject the use of arms and the gunbattles that have shaken Tripoli since Monday and have left scores of casualties.

“The army and the security forces enjoy the full political cover to thwart any attempt to create insecurity,” Saniora reportedly told the city’s personalities.

Al-Mustaqbal’s Tripoli MP Samir al-Jisr also told An Nahar that a meeting scheduled to be held between the city’s officials on Saturday is aimed at following up with security authorities ways to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.

“We won’t give up our responsibilities,” he said.

The gunbattles between majority Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh and mainly Alawite Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods erupted on Monday in a clear sign of the Syrian war’s spillover into Lebanon.

The residents of Bab al-Tabbaneh support the Syrian revolution against President Bashar Assad while Jabal Mohsen is a staunch supporter of the regime.

Attempts by security, political and religious officials to restore order to the city failed on Thursday after gunbattles and sniper fire left several people dead.