Army Deploys after Priest Assaulted in Tripoli's al-Zahriyeh

The army deployed heavily in several Tripoli streets on Sunday after a priest was assaulted by several men.

"Priest Abdullah Skaff was beaten up by young men who were smoking shisha outside the Greek Catholic bishopric in Tripoli's al-Zahriyeh area,” Radio Voice of Lebanon (100.5) reported.

Later, the radio station said the army deployed heavily in Churches Street and al-Hamidi Street in the wake of the attack.

Meanwhile, Tony Marouni, the coordinator of the Free Patriotic Movement in Tripoli, told OTV that the assault happened after Skaff “asked young men smoking shisha outside the church to move their motorcycles before the beginning of Sunday Mass.”

“The young men started mocking the priest before assaulting him and his son, Michel. Before long, the number of young men increased, but residents from the area intervened and rescued the two men,” Marouni added.

The FPM official noted that the attack “has affected entire Tripoli,” telling OTV he doubts that “Tripoli's Christian lawmakers have learned of the incident in the first place.”

Later on Sunday, Patriarchal Prelate of Tripoli's Greek Catholic Diocese Bishop George Baaqouni visited the diocese to follow up on the incident.

“The incident has no political or sectarian motives and all the sons of the city are like brothers,” Baaqouni said.

The bishop urged the media not to "blow the incident out of proportion," noting that "things have ended at this point" and thanking security forces for "their efforts, especially the arrest of those who attacked Father Skaff."