Report: Tripoli Clashes Favor Syrian Regime

Syrian pressure on Prime Minister Najib Miqati is increasing on a daily basis and the Tripoli clashes have been provoked by the Syrian regime, a French source told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published on Sunday.

It said: “The situation in Tripoli favors the Syrian regime.”

It noted however that the regime and Hizbullah “are in a difficult position”, adding that the “entire political class in Lebanon has been weakened.”

Prominent Mustaqbal Movement sources told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Sunday that the Tripoli clashes “affirm Syrian President Bashar Assad’s efforts to create chaos in Lebanon have not stopped.”

“These efforts will fail,” they stressed.

Meanwhile, concerned circles told the daily that the situation in Tripoli “reflects the state’s inability to contain the unrest as demonstrated in a failed attempt to deploy security forces in the areas that witnessed clashes.”

They warned that the city has now become a “hostage of regional powers seeking to exploit the unrest” for Lebanese, Arab, and regional ends.

The army and security forces have since deployed in the city on Sunday morning.

In a related development, al-Hayat revealed that French President Francois Hollande is “very interested in the developments in Lebanon.”

He recently telephoned President Michel Suleiman and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also contacted Miqati in a reflection of this interest, added the daily.

The French president is scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Qatari Premier Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani on the developments in Lebanon and Syria, it added.

The rival Tripoli neighborhoods Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen have been gripped by frequent fighting, reflecting a split between Lebanon's parties where the March 14- led opposition backs the revolt in Syria while a ruling coalition led by Hizbullah supports the Damascus regime.

Twelve people were killed and 50 wounded in the latest round of clashes that broke out on Friday.