Sniper activity renewed on Thursday in the northern city of Tripoli as the army began a series of raids to detain offenders and seized weapons from a depot in the wheat market.

According to a communique issued by the army the arms depot included a quantity of explosives, local-made mortars, rifles and ammunition and other military equipment.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat emphasized that he will discuss with former PM Saad Hariri the latest developments in the northern city of Tripoli, stressing that the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad will not be through firing at Jabal Mohsen.

“Everyone must know that firing at Jabal Mohsen neighborhood will not lead to the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad. It only harms the city itself,” stressed Jumblat in remarks to al-Akhbar daily on Thursday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati promised on Thursday that the Lebanese army will not hesitate to open fire on gunmen involved in the fighting in the northern city of Tripoli.

In remarks to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, Miqati said: “The military will respond without hesitation to the sources of fire from any side they came because the city's residents have the right to live in peace.”

President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday decided to file a lawsuit against MP Mohammed Kabbara over the lawmaker's accusations concerning the situation in Tripoli, state-run National News Agency reported, confirming an earlier Naharnet report.

Suleiman “asked the Public Prosecution to file a lawsuit against MP Mohammed Abdul Latif Kabbara for accusing the president of collusion” against Tripoli, NNA said.

The Army Command issued a statement on Wednesday stressing that it will take decisive measures to address the thorny situation in Tripoli away from any political interferences, following the escalating tension in the northern city.

“In light of the escalating tension in Tripoli and taking into consideration the number of casualties and injuries reported, the Army saw it better to address the issue wisely with patience and precision,” the statement said.

Speaker Nabih Berri called on Wednesday for intensified efforts to strengthen stability in the northern city of Tripoli and support the military's role there.

Berri's stance came during his weekly meeting with lawmakers.

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali said on Wednesday that the ongoing battles in the northern city of Tripoli reflect the developments in Tripoli, pointing out that the final result will be in favor of Lebanon, Syria and the whole region.

“All those who strategically read the developments in the region said that the countries are integrated and the attack on Syria will have an impact,” Ali told reporters after talks with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun at his residence in Rabieh.

The head of the Arab Democratic Party, Rifaat Eid, has expressed reservations over raids carried out by the Lebanese army in his stronghold in the northern city of Tripoli as Speaker Nabih Berri hinted that a fifth column was seeking to create tension in the area.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, Eid said the army made unusual steps in the neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen on Tuesday by “raiding our homes and ransacking them and we haven't made a move against it.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday urged an end to the fighting in Tripoli, noting that any attempt to affect the course of battles in Syria through igniting the situation in the northern city is futile.

“As major world powers stand idly by regarding the martyrs that are falling everyday across Syria, and given their inability to reach a common vision on the implementation of the desired political solution that aims to rescue the Syrian people, igniting the fire in the city of Tripoli will not change the equations of the complicated and worsening Syrian situations,” Jumblat said in a press release.

Army units on Tuesday launched a crackdown on gunmen in Jabal Mohsen and started removing barricades and sandbags from the Tripoli neighborhood, ahead of taking the same measures in the adjacent districts.

Abdul Latif Saleh, spokesman for the Arab Democratic Party, the main political and military force in Jabal Mohsen, welcomed the step but demanded a similar crackdown in the rival neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh.