MP Mohammad Kabara said on Friday that some parties resorted to threats and intimidation in order to "stir up instincts", as some threatened to turn Tripoli to a “scorched earth”.
During a press conference held at his residence in Tripoli following a meeting with the city’s official figures, Kabara called on security apparatuses to settle the situation and implement the security plan previously agreed upon, urging President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati to assume their responsibilities.
In this context, Kabara stressed the need to find a “remedy” to Tripoli’s security situation as was done in both Sidon and Beirut, threatening of calling for a civil disobedience "if the situation remains to be ignored".
Earlier,
a mortar shell landed on the house of the Arab Democratic Party media
official, Abdul Latif Saleh in Jabal Mohsen leaving his mother wounded.
In this context Saleh declared that the party will be declaring a cease fire, calling on
the LAF to implement security in the volatile region.
Saleh said that
the cabinet session did not address the crisis in Tripoli in yesterday’s
session, hoping that President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati
will assume their responsibility in this regard.
For its part, the Islamic National Gathering in Bab Al-Tebbaneh also held a meeting whereby a statement released shortly after said that the battle is not between
Sunnis and Alawites but is between "a faction that wants to monopolize the
decision-making mechanism of the Alawite sect in Tripoli and hand it over to
foreign forces".
"We demand an emergency plan to encourage
development in the northern region and a special fund dedicated to it.
In this regard, we urge the security forces to take control of the
situation in Tripoli," Islamic forces added.
Islamic forces in Bab
Al-Tebbaneh said that they were not the ones who initiated the clashes, adding that they have informed the "other camp" that
the ceasefire will start as of 4:00 pm.
Gunshots were fired into the air near Abdul Hamid Karami square in
Tripoli after a dispute broke out between passengers in an unknown
vehicle and soldiers in the Bab al-Ramel area, noting that three people
were wounded near Tripoli's Abdul Hamid Karami square during the funeral
of a youth killed in the clashes.
Heavy gunfire with mid-range caliber weapons was heard throughout the
entire city of Tripoli with the LAF responding to the sources.
The LAF Command said that army units deployed in Tripoli are raiding
several areas in the city, arresting several gunmen and confiscating
arms.
This comes after a Lebanese Army Forces soldier was killed
with another wounded in sniping operations between Tripoli's Bab
al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen raising the death toll in the wake of the
violent sweep overtaking the city.
In this context, military sources told LBCI that the Lebanese Army is implementing raids in the region of Souk al-Qameh, chasing gunmen, and arresting outlaws, noting that a LAF martyr was killed by sniper’s gunshots near al-Zahraa hospital.
The sources stressed that the army is being shot at by both sides in the conflict, and has started to fire back at snipers in Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tebbaneh.
On the other hand, the State
Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr ordered
investigations into the events due to the presence of military personnel
among the victims.
Earlier, six people were reported dead with 30 others wounded as gunfire exchange renewed.
A
security source identified 4 out of 6 deceased as Samir Haddad, Yahiya
Tleigeh, Mohammad Merhi and Mohammad Al-Rashid.
Earlier the army
closed the Tripoli-Akkar road due to sniping activity and is shooting
back with medium-caliber weapons at the sources of gunfire from Jabal
Mohsen, Bab al-Tabbaneh, al-Baqqar, Masharii Hariri, al-Mankoubin,
al-Mallouleh and Syria Street.
Clashes erupted in Tripoli city after a shootout broke out earlier on Wednesday at the al-Kobeh state-run hospital.
The
hospital's incident was soon followed by the appearance of gunmen in
the area between the Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen regions and mortar
shells were also dropped in the area.