Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Thursday that he will not give up on Internal Security Chief Maj.-Gen. Ashraf Rifi, al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported.

“Rifi is one of the best officers committed to implementing the law,” he told the daily.

On July 15, 2011, eleven officers completed the 13th U.S. - Lebanese Supervision and Management Course, including eight who also completed the Instructors course, at the Internal Security Forces Academy in Warwar.

Director of the Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Programs Thaddeus Kontek congratulated them upon their graduation.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said that only Internal Security Forces chief Major General Ashraf Rifi has the authority to shuffle the positions of officers in the ISF, including that of 12 officers and the appointment of colonel Naji al-Masri as caretaker judiciary police chief.

He made his statement in response to former minister Wiam Wahhab’s accusations on Wednesday that the Interior Minister had “appointed Masri as judiciary police chief by force.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati will keep top Sunni personalities in their “sensitive posts” despite previous campaigns by his allies to remove them for being close to former Premier Saad Hariri, ministerial sources said.

The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Monday that among the officials that Miqati intends to keep in their posts are General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and head of the Intelligence Bureau Col. Wissam al-Hassan.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel requested that Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi not travel outside of Lebanon “during this critical time” in the country, therefore preventing him from taking part in a security conference in France, reported Al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday.

It added that Charbel is closely inspecting all travel requests submitted by security officers and personnel from the security apparatuses within the Interior Ministry before allowing them to head abroad.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel reportedly froze a decision by Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi to promote more than 400 officers.

Al-Akhbar daily said Saturday that Charbel ordered a freeze on the promotion of the 400 policemen to sergeants.

President Michel Suleiman has said the containment of the deadly clashes in the northern port city of Tripoli last week were “a sign that the cabinet is capable of preserving stability,” stressing that its lifespan depends on the level of its performance.

In his first interview after the formation of Premier Najib Miqati’s government, Suleiman told An Nahar daily published Tuesday that the Tripoli “test succeeded in (enabling the cabinet) to hold a grip on the security situation."

A ministerial-security meeting was held on Monday morning under Prime Minister Najib Miqati to address the situation in the northern city of Tripoli in the aftermath of Friday’s clashes.

The meeting was attended by Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, and Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati said he backs calls for announcing Tripoli an arms-free city, stressing he does not differentiate between Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh districts which witnessed armed clashes on Friday.

“The situation in Tripoli is under control,” Miqati told As Safir daily published Monday. “The Lebanese army is playing its full role on the ground in cooperation with the Internal Security Forces.”

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said Wednesday that his priority was to consolidate security and strengthen ties of confidence between the Internal Security Forces and the citizens.

“I am a minister for all of Lebanon and with the presidency in general,” Charbel stressed to Voice of Lebanon radio station.