Arab Democratic Party says will lift cover off Tripoli's saboteurs

 
The media spokesman of the Arab Democratic Party Abdul Latif Saleh announced on Thursday that it will lift the cover off any saboteur in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen.

He also called on Tripoli's residents to cooperate with the Lebanese Army to facilitate its mission in restoring peace and security to the city.

Earlier, a meeting was held in Tripoli's Dar al-Fatwa in the presence of Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Future Bloc MP Mohammad Kabbara, as well as high-ranking figures in order to tackle the situation in the city.

Meanwhile, a communiqué issued by the Army's Guidance Directorate said that a Lebanese army patrol was hit by gunmen in Jabal Mohsen and countered the fire source.

Earlier, the Lebanese Armed Forces said an arms cache was found in Tripoli's Souk al-Kameh, noting that it contained heavy artillery weapons including Hawn rockets.

The Army Command announced in this regard that the said weapons cache is owned by citizen Ziad Alouki who noted that the LAF aim at provoking sectarian strife.

For his part, Alouki told LBCI that the LAF solely seized 3 rifles and one shield, adding that all reports about other confiscations are false.

Earlier, cautious calm prevailed on different axes of clashes in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli as the LAF deployed throughout the area, seized weapons, carried out raids in Souk al-Kameh and in the surrounding areas, and conducted foot and motorized patrols.

In this regard, residents of Tripoli's Souk al-Kameh cut-off the road in the region with burning tires in protest of the operations undertaken by the LAF which arrested a number of citizens. The LAF were compelled to open fire in the air in order to disperse the demonstrators.

Later in the day, the LAF raided another weapons cache in the region of Jabal Mohsen.

It is also worth noting that the LAF reopened Tripoli's al-Mantin road after gunmen had blocked it.

This as most shops, banks, universities, and schools opened their doors in a bid to push through the heavy economic losses entailed by the city.

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.

Clashes erupted in Tripoli on Sunday the 19th of May between pro-Syrian regime supporters in the predominantly Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen and pro-revolution fighters in the Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh leaving at least 35 persons killed, including 3 LAF members, and more than 300 others wounded.

Violence between the two areas stretches back to decades, but the recent round of fighting was the heaviest.

On Sunday the 26th of May, clashes eased significantly, while sporadic gunshots were still heard occasionally as Lebanese Armed Forces deployed in al-Kobbeh and Rifa regions, and headed towards Syria Street.