Calm Prevails in Tripoli after Night-Long Clashes

Calm was restored on Saturday in the northern city of Tripoli after fierce battles erupted the night before between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.

The Lebanese army is carrying out patrols with military vehicles in the streets that separate the two neighborhoods, while Internal Security forces carried out patrols in the city's main streets and routes.

According to the state-run National news agency, the international highway between Akkar and Tripoli is open.

The gunbattles erupted after ISF Intelligence Bureau detained on Friday Youssef Diab, a member of the Arab Democratic Party, the main political and armed group in Jabal Mohsen.

The arrest prompted the residents and supporters of Jabal Mohsen to open fire, provoking Bab al-Tabbaneh residents.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim toured the checkpoints in the city and instructed the general security members to be on stand-by.

A communique issued by the directorate of general security, “Maj. Gen. Ibrahim ordered general security members to implement the city's security plan in coordination with security agencies to maintain stability in the area.”

Tripoli has witnessed recurrent clashes between the Sunni-majority neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the mainly Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen.

The clashes have become more frequent and deadly since the beginning of the Syrian uprising, which pits the Sunni-led opposition against the regime of President Bashar Assad, who is Alawite.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel had recently said that a two-stage security plan was established to preserve stability in the northern city.

The Tripoli security plan calls for the army to intervene between the rival gunmen and the security forces to protect the city from bomb attacks.

On August 23, 45 people were killed and over 800 wounded in twin explosions in Tripoli.

Later on Saturday, Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Sakr Sakr issued arrest warrants against Diab and two other men on suspicions of involvement in the twin bombings that targeted al-Salam and al-Taqwa mosques.

The authorities have implemented a similar plan in the Hizbullah stronghold of Beirut's southern suburbs where several blasts have also left hundreds of casualties.

Charbel briefed caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati on the situation in the city during a telephone conversations.

Miqati was also briefed by caretaker Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi on the ongoing judicial investigations with Diab.