Hariri Denounces Clashes in Tripoli, Calls on Army to Assume Responsibilities

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri called on the army to assume its responsibilities and safeguard the northern city of Tripoli, expressing fear that a “wicked” plot is targeting the city and its residents.

“We completely reject the incidents in Tripoli,” Hariri said in a statement issued late on Monday.

He called on the army and the security institutions to control the situation and prevent those “who are assaulting the dignity and safety of the citizens and implementing foreign orders” that aim at destabilizing the country from carrying out their plot.

A new wave of Syria-linked clashes between Sunni and Alawite residents of Tripoli has killed six people in less than 24 hours.

The latest confrontations come after a brief lull in the violence between the two sides, after a flare-up last month left 31 people dead and more than 200 wounded.

“The state should end the bloody scene and we will not cover up its negligence,” Hariri added.

The Mustaqbal movement leader considered that standing still concerning the battles in Tripoli is a “crime.”

Hariri said that the state is responsible for preventing any strife in the country and prevent the turmoil in Syria from spilling over into Lebanon.

The violence in Tripoli is tied to the conflict in Syria, where a Sunni-led uprising is fighting to overthrow the regime of President Bashar Assad, an Alawite.

The fighting in Tripoli, which has flared sporadically since the beginning of the Syria conflict in March 2011, has largely been confined to Jabal Mohsen and Bab el-Tabbaneh.

But the repercussions of the Syria conflict have also been felt elsewhere in its neighbor Lebanon.