Miqati: Tripoli Residents Have and Will Always Remain under Rule of the State

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Saturday the right of the northern city of Tripoli to enjoy peace and security, adding that the army and security forces will assume their duties in full to maintain its safety.

He added: “The residents of city have been and will always remain under the rule of the state.”

He made his remarks during an annual youth conference in Tripoli.

He continued: “The army has deployed in the city and the security plan for Tripoli will take its long and thorny course.”

“The deployment is not limited to military aspects, but it also includes fortifying civil peace and garnering the people's support for the state,” said Miqati.

This will also pave the way for a development policy to take its course in the city, he declared.

“As the sons of Tripoli, we have and will always remain under the rule of the state. It is our first and last resort,” remarked the caretaker premier.

“The city has the right to live in peace … and it will not succumb to any compromise over the souls of the victims of the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques bombings,” he stressed.

Furthermore he revealed that he had urged all concerned agencies to uncover those responsible for the crime in order to bring them to justice.

“The leaders of Tripoli should not allow their weaknesses to be exploited for petty gains,” demanded Miqati.

Forty-five people were killed and 800 injured in car bomb blasts that targeted the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques in Tripoli on August 23.

Head of the Arab Democratic Party Ali Eid and his driver have been found to be linked to the bombings.

Eid has been summoned for questioning, but he evaded on Tuesday a summons to undergo questioning by a military tribunal judge claiming medical reasons.

His son, Rifaat, has declared that his father will not comply with the demand instead slamming the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau as a “spy agency working against Lebanon's interests.”

General Prosecutor Samir Hammoud tasked on Monday the head of the Criminal Investigation Department to question Rifaat Eid over his recent threats against the ISF Intelligence Bureau.

Tripoli has also been victim to clashes between the rival Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods.

The neighborhoods have frequently witnessed rounds of clashes, but they have risen in intensity in recent years in light of the eruption of the uprising in Syria in March 2011.

The residents of Bab al-Tabbaneh back the uprising, while Jabal Mohsen, the Arab Democratic Party's stronghold, supports the Syrian regime.