REPORT: Unprecedented reconciliation between Tripoli’s rivals as LAF continues security plan

In an unprecedented move, residents from Tripoli's Bab al-Tebbaneh staged a reconciliation and goodwill march from their homes across to the rival Jabal Mohsen neighborhood in what may become part of peace efforts instigated by the residents that have been long term foes.

This march came on the second day of the implementation of a security plan in the northern city of Tripoli,  as Lebanese Armed Forces units, accompanied by Internal Security Forces patrols, entered Wednesday at dawn the region of Bab al-Tebbaneh, while military choppers flew over the region.

The military forces carried out raids in order to arrest fugitives in accordance with legal warrants.

This as MP Mohammad Kabbara, Sheikh Salem al-Rafei and Sheikh Zakaria al-Masri had visited the region of Bab al-Tebbaneh and examined the security measures implemented by the security apparatuses.

Meanwhile, army forces set up permanent security checkpoints in the region of al-Abdeh in Akkar, and at several intersections of Akkar’s main towns, within the framework of the security plan underway in Tripoli and the North.

The army also conducted patrols across the towns and villages of Akkar, mainly the border towns, tightening control over the illegal border crossings, which were closed by the army along the northern borderline.

The security plan kicked off on Tuesday in Tripoli, where army units deployed in in al-Qobbeh and Jabal Mohsen regions, conducted motorized patrols, established checkpoints, raided suspicious locations and arrested a number of fugitives who were handed over to the concerned authorities.

Last week, the cabinet tasked the army and security forces with controlling the security situation in Tripoli and the eastern Bekaa Valley in areas bordering Syria. 

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. 

The death toll from the latest round of clashes, which erupted last Thursday, reaped a death toll of at least 23 people while the number of injured increased to over 157. 


To watch Edmond Sassine's report, please click on the VIDEO above