Future bloc says residents of Jabal Mohsen not involved in Tripoli blasts

 
The Future bloc issued a statement on Tuesday whereby it announced that "Lebanon's main problem lies in Hezbollah's non-abidance by the constitution's provisions and notions of coexistence".

The bloc stressed the need to withdraw Hezbollah's fighters from Syria and to abide by the Baabda Declaration which paves the way for talks over the formation of a political government.

"The new cabinet should look into the Lebanese people's affairs while easing tension and addressing the main problem which is the presence of illegitimate weapons," it added.

Separately, the Future bloc confirmed that the residents of Jabal Mohsen are not involved in Tripoli's twin blasts, condemning the attack that has recently targeted workers from Jabal Mohsen.

"The criminals who had plotted and executed Tripoli's bombings should be penalized," the bloc clarified.

In August, two explosions rocked the city of Tripoli near the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques, leaving 45 killed and almost 500 others injured.

In the details, one blast occurred outside the al-Taqwa mosque as Friday prayers ended, while the other the other hit central Tripoli near the al-Salam mosque facing the residence of the former general director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces Major General Ashraf Rifi.

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.          

Fighting had re-erupted on Monday 21st October in the northern city between gunmen of rival Lebanese sects where at least 12 people were killed in the latest round of clashes.              

The latest battle also wounded more than 60 people, officials said.               

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.