Army Soldier, 4 Dead in Tripoli’s Clashes…Strife Rekindled?!

Local Editor

An Army soldier was killed and another wounded on Friday before noon in Tripoli's sniping between Jabal Mohsen and Bab el Tebaneh.

Meanwhile, the death toll from renewed clashes between the two areas in the northern capital, rose to four after a man died of his wounds Friday.

A security source identified the four dead as Samir Haddad, Yahiya Tleigeh, Mohammad Merhi and Mohammad Al-Rashid, who were killed in exchange of fire in the region of Qobbeh.
The source added that 25 more people were injured by gunfire in Bab al-Tabbaneh, adding that a soldier has been wounded in the city.

This comes as sniper fire intensified in Tripoli and residents are fleeing some areas en masse.
The National News Agency said the army was responding with medium-caliber weapons against the sources of gunfire in Jabal Mohsen, Bab al-Tabbaneh, al-Baqqar, Hariri Project, al-Mankoubin, al-Mallouleh and Syria Street.
Army responded to gunfire irrespective of the source and set check points at various regions in Tripoli. It further closed the Tripoli-Akkar road.

Clashes erupted in Tripoli city after a shootout broke out earlier on Wednesday at the Qobbeh state-run hospital.
The hospital's incident was soon followed by the appearance of gunmen in the area between the Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen regions and shells were also dropped in the region.

For his part, the head of the Alawite Islamic Council, Sheikh Assad Assi, warned against the escalating violence targeting Jabal Mohsen, saying that the Alawite sect would defend itself if authorities failed to do so.
"Strife has been rekindled ... I call on the president, prime minister and speaker, ministers, Army commander and [head of the Internal Security Forces] Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi to be responsible toward members of this sect," Assi said in a news conference in Jabal Mohsen.

"Tripoli is the city of goodness, and we stand by the side of Sunnis and honorable Salafists ... but a minority of takfiris have come to this country calling for the slaughtering of Alawite children and the raping and killing of Alawite women," he added, referring to extremists who support killing those who aren't sufficiently religious.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org