Uneasy calm prevails over Tripoli, meeting at Mikati’s residence to restore stability

An uneasy calm prevailed over Tripoli Saturday evening after a parking lot located near Al-Nasseri Mosque in Bab el Tebbaneh was set on fire. ISF patrols toured the city’s streets and inspected vehicles.                   

Security sources told LBCI that the LAF began removing barricades between Bab el Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.   

Meanwhile, the sit-in in Al Nour Square is still ongoing as Sheikh Nabil Rahim, member of the Committee of Parents of Islamist Detainees, told LBCI that next Tuesday will be the final deadline for the release of Shadi el-Mawlawi since “his record is clean”. Rahim warned that in case Shadi is not released, protestors will take additional measures but without causing disturbance to Tripoli’s residents.  

Sheikh Salem al-Rafei, Imam of the Taqwa Mosque, told LBCI on Saturday that the events in Tripoli are tied with the Syrian issue, adding that all the excuses put forth by the Syrian regime aim at extending its rule. “They want to make people think that the north [Lebanon], especially Tripoli, houses extremists; they also want to pave the way for the Syrian army to enter the north in order to give the [Syrian] regime a new chance”.     

Prime Minister Najib Mikati held a meeting at his residence in Tripoli in presence of Minister Mohammad Safadi, Ahmad Karami, Faisal Karami, MP Mohammad Kabbara and head of North Lebanon Army Intelligence Unit, Brigadier Amer Al-Hassan, and head of the Tripoli's gendarmerie, Brig. Gen. Bassam Ayoubi.         

Participants discussed the situation in Tripoli amid the measures taken by the LAF and ISF. They stressed the necessity to intensify security measures in Qubba, Jabal Mohsen and Bab el Tebbaneh and to fill the loopholes to prevent any security breaches.            

They stressed that the LAF and ISF have clear instructions to contain the security situation and intensify their deployment to create a positive atmosphere in the city of Tripoli.