Lebanese President Michel Sleiman along with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Major General Jean Kahwagi held a security meeting on Monday at the Baabda Palace to discuss the security situation in Tripoli.
Following the meeting, caretaker PM Mikati told LBCI that officials agreed on placing Tripoli under the full supervision of LAF soldiers for a period of 6 months.
Mikati added that this decision was discussed during the meeting and will be issued from the Grand Serail on the basis of article 4 of the Lebanese Defense Law that tasks LAF soldiers with protecting all Lebanese regions.
Cautious calm:
Cautious calm prevailed in the northern city of Tripoli; however, the regions of Jabal Mohsen and Bab el-Tabbaneh witnessed sporadic sniping operations that targeted the international highway between the 2 mentioned regions.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Armed Forces raided several locations in Jabal Mohsen and arrested a citizen from the Abdel Aziz family and seized several weapons that were in his possession.
Neighborhoods away from the regions of clashes witnessed at noon severe traffic jam seemingly since all residents headed to their workplaces.
This as, Internal Security Forces members deployed at the Serail in Tripoli and LAF soldiers raided various regions in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen and Bab el-Tabbaneh where they seized weapons and ammunition.
The death toll in Tripoli reached 10 on Monday after the death of Haitham Tibeh, and the number of injured persons became 100 including 16 LAF soldiers among them 2 officers.
Those injured from sniping operations on Monday were identified as Jamal Shakhshir, Samer Tartousy, Ismael Kamal, Hassan and Khoder Arour, Ali Hayek, and Mohammad Kaddour.
LAF:
Meanwhile, the military institution intensified the deployment of LAF soldiers at the northern Lebanese city in a bid to strengthen the security measures in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen, Bab el-Tabbaneh, and al-Bakkar regions, as well as in Syria Street.
In this regard, a statement issued by the Lebanese Army stated that LAF soldiers conducted patrols and set checkpoints, and they also responded to sources of gunfire and raided various regions in Tripoli where they seized weapons and ammunition as well as a number of mobile devices and handed them to concerned authorities.
Judge Saqr Saqr:
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr ordered on Monday the arrest of eight persons involved in Tripoli's clashes, including Hatem al-Janzarli.
He also requested revealing the identities of 60 individuals in order to take the necessary legal measures against them.
On Sunday, the Lebanese army arrested a number of individuals from Tripoli, including Hatem al-Janzarli, who is suspected of opening fire at the army.
Judge Samir Hamoud:
On another note, a meeting was held between Acting General Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud and several LAF officials to study the arrest warrants issued by Judge Saqr Saqr against various persons from Tripoli.
The port city of Tripoli has long been a stronghold of Sunni Islamists in northern Lebanon.
But the city has become increasingly volatile in recent months due to the civil war in neighboring Syria, where the Sunni majority is leading a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
Disputes from neighboring Syria's civil war frequently inflame sectarian grievances in Tripoli. These clashes pit gunmen from both the mostly Sunni Bab Tabbaneh district and the Jabal Mohsen district which mostly comprises residents of Syrian President Bashar Assad's Alawite sect, a Shiite Islam offshoot.
Tensions had been mounting since 14 October, when a Lebanese military prosecutor pressed charges against seven men, at least one of whom was from Jabal Mohsen, for their involvement in twin bombings near two Sunni mosques in Tripoli on 23 August that killed 47 people.
To watch Edmond Sassine's report, please click on the VIDEO above