Canadian journalist Maria Moore was wounded in today’s clashes, as was media person Hussein Nahle who received a gun wound to the head by sniper fire on Tripoli’s Abu Ali roundabout.
Violent clashes had renewed overnight between Tripoli's rival neighborhoods of Bab el-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen following the killing of Salafi Sheikh Khaled al-Baradei by sniper fire in Tripoli’s Riva neighborhood. The clashes killed three other people and wounded 12. Among the injured are seven Lebanese army military personnel.
Heavy use of arms was reported from both sides and masked gunmen were seen roaming Tripoli’s streets, burning a number of shops.
The LAF raided Tripoli's neighborhoods in an attempt to control the situation before nightfall.
LAF sources told LBCI that the army raided gunmen hideouts during the night, adding that the LAF units deployed in the region are responding to sources of fire from both sides.
In this context, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said that Tripoli’s security plan needs 48 hours to materialize.
In a statement to LBCI, the residents called for a drastic solution to the events in Tripoli.
For his part, the Arab Democratic Party’s media official Abdul Latif Saleh told LBCI that the party is not concerned by the decisions resulting from yesterday’s meeting held in Tripoli and headed by PM Najib Mikati. "We are only coordinating with the Lebanese army”, he said.
Saleh pointed out that Jabal Mohsen’s residents are not responding to sources of fire, leaving this task to the LAF. “They are only responding in al-Mankoubin region”, he said.
Commenting on the death of Sheikh Baradei, Saleh said that the residents of Jabbal Mohsen have nothing to do with the killing of the sheikh, seemingly since he was killed in the area of Dahr el-Maghar, far from Jabbal Mohsen, and not in Riva as previously stated.
Education Minister Hassan Diab promised through Voice of Lebanon radio that he will look into the exceptional cases among the students who were expected to sit for the state official exams’ second session in Tripoli, especially in the areas that have been witnessing the fiercest clashes since early in the morning.
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Beirut voiced its concern on Friday over the continuing violence in Tripoli and expressed sincere condolences for the loss of life.
For the full LBCI report please click on the video above