The Mustaqbal bloc praised on Thursday U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s decision to extend the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s mission for three years, saying that it spared Lebanon heated political disputes.
It accused the March 8 camp of seeking to destabilize the country, blaming it of stirring the clashes that erupted between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli on Friday.
Full StoryMaronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi postponed his visit to the northern port city of Tripoli over last week’s bloody clashes between two rival neighborhoods.
The Tripoli bishopric said Tuesday that the postponement of the visit that was scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday came to allow “the city to lick its wounds after the latest confrontations that it witnessed.”
Full StoryInterior Minister Marwan Charbel said Tuesday that he would visit the northern port city of Tripoli in the next few days to inspect the army units and security forces deployed there following the deadly clashes between two rival neighborhoods.
In remarks to al-Liwaa daily, Charbel also said that he would visit lawmakers, officials and clergymen in the capital of the North.
Full StoryPrime Minister Najib Miqati ruled out on Monday the return of political assassinations in Lebanon, saying that any leads in this matter are being tackled by the concerned security authorities.
He told LBC television that will be broadcast later on Monday: “Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare informed me that he will release an updated version of the indictment in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri.”
Full StorySpeaker Nabih Berri continued on Monday to insist on not mediating in the cabinet crisis, saying Premier Najib Miqati’s decision to suspend government sessions was “unjustified.”
“I hold onto my decision not to act as a mediator on the government crisis because Miqati’s decision on the suspension of sessions is unjustified,” Berri told As Safir daily.
Full StoryPremier Najib Miqati returned to Beirut on Sunday, a day earlier than schedule, to contain the tension in the northern port city of Tripoli that has left at least three people dead.
Upon his return from a two-day official visit to Paris, Miqati held a telephone conversation with Speaker Nabih Berri and informed him that he came to Beirut a day earlier to end the “abnormal situation” in the capital of the North.
Full StoryA cautious calm prevailed in the northern port city of Tripoli on Sunday after two days of heavy gunbattles between two neighborhoods left at least three people dead and 23 injured.
Media reports said there was no breach of the ceasefire that was reached on Saturday between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh, which is Sunni, and the dominant Alawite Jabal Mohsen.
Full StoryForeign Minister Adnan Mansour rejected to be a false witness in the meetings of Arab foreign ministers, warning that Lebanon would be harmed if Syria was engulfed by fire.
In an interview with the Kuwaiti al-Rai daily published Sunday, Mansour said: “If we have remarks then we will say them boldly particularly if that decision would threaten the security and stability of Syria.”
Full StoryA ceasefire was announced on Saturday between the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen under the army’s sponsorship after fierce clashes killed and wounded a number of civilians and troops.
The Lebanese army is deployed on the outskirts of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tebbaneh, namely near Syria Street which separates the rival neighborhoods.
Full StoryPrime Minister Najib Miqati expressed confidence on Saturday that the army will be able to restore order in the northern coastal city of Tripoli, Praising the Lebanese-French bilateral relation after a meeting with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe.
“The Lebanese army will be able to play its role; we have confidence in its leadership. I contacted army commander General Jean Qahwaji and I am confident that the army will restore order (in Tripoli),” Miqati told reporters in the French capital Paris.
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