2 Dead, Several Hurt in Ongoing Tripoli Clashes, Military Court Seeks to Arrest Gunmen
Two people were killed and at least 15 injured in heavy clashes that rattled the northern city of Tripoli on Friday as the military prosecution began acting against the warring sides, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The latest casualty was Jabal Mohsen resident Katia Khodr, a 22-year-old mother of two, who died from gunshot wounds she suffered on Thursday, a security official told Agence France Presse.
The casualty toll from five days of clashes has climbed to six dead and 49 wounded, the official said.
NNA said the number of casualties was reported in the gunbattles that rocked the city after midnight.
The gunmen used rockets and machineguns in the clashes. They also threw light flares to see the sources of rocket fire, the agency said.
The fighting between the rival neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh subsided in the morning despite intermittent sniper fire.
However, clashes and sniper activity escalated in the afternoon on all frontiers, according to several media reports.
Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said an exchange of gunfire erupted between army troops and an armed group that tried to prevent soldiers from erecting a checkpoint on Bab al-Tabbaneh's highway, which left several people wounded.
Al-Jadeed television said a child was wounded by sniper fire in the al-Baqqar area.
The army responded to the sources of fire and carried out patrols in the areas that separate the two districts and at the city's entrances, the agency said.
Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam expressed regret over the victims of the clashes, warning of the “dangerous results of meddling with the people's fate and the safety of the northern city.”
He stressed the importance of undertaking the “necessary measures to end the terrible degradation of the security situation in Tripoli.”
Salam held the government responsible for the situation in the city as it failed to act firmly with the violators.
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr asked the heads of security agencies in the North to provide him with the names of the gunmen taking part in the Tripoli fighting to issue arrest warrants against them.
His decision came following a security meeting held on Thursday under President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace.
After the meeting, Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati said certain decisions had been taken and that their results would appear in the coming days.
There was limited traffic in Tripoli on Friday morning but most shops began opening and owners took stock of the damage to their properties.
With Friday's death, the toll in the fighting rose to at least six dead and more than 70 injured.
The fighting broke out on Monday evening as celebratory gunfire erupted in Jabal Mohsen over Syrian President Bashar Assad’s appearance on al-Mayadeen television for an interview.
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