Naharnet

Mansour, al-Mawlawi Evacuate Mosque in al-Tabbani After Efforts of Tripoli Clerics

Ousama Mansour and Shadi al-Mawlawi will be evacuating in the next few hours a mosque they used to frequently go to, and that is after efforts by the clerics of Tripoli.

“During the next few hours Abdullah bin Masood mosque in Bab al-Tabbani will be evacuated,” the National News Agency said.

According to LBCI: “A gathering of clerics and dignitaries agreed in the presence of al-Mawlawi and Mansour Mosque to evacuate Abdullah bin Masood Mosque within 48 hours.”

“The meeting that was held in Abdullah bin Masood mosque between Mansour and al-Mawlawi with the dignitaries and clerics of Tripoli stressed the need to remove surveillance cameras from the vicinity of the mosque and also the removal of the guard,” it added.

Clerics from the northern city of Tripoli are attempting to persuade notorious militants al-Mawlawi and Mansour to evacuate a mosque they have been reportedly been holing up at recently, said the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

The clerics are seeking to make them evacuate the Abdullah bin Massoud Mosque in Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, said sources from the city.

They added that the two militants are prepared to do so and return it to the authority of the concerned clerics.

Meanwhile, sources from those clergy told the daily that Mawlawi and Mansour have not been recently seen at the premises, leading them to believe that they have indeed evacuated the mosque.

Mawlawi and Mansour are also not keen to be embroiled in any attempts to create security unrest in the city, stressing that they will not be lured into any assault against the army, added the sources.

Barricades and sandbags were reportedly erected anew on Tuesday around a security square established by the fugitives.

The barricades are spread on the main streets separating the rival Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods in the northern city and between Bab al-Tabbaneh and army posts in Tripoli.

The radio station said that surveillance cameras were set to monitor the security square that includes al-Asmar square, Starco, Tartous street and the vegetables market.

Media reports said on Monday that security forces are determined to arrest Mawlawi and Mansour after locating their hideout in the Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood.

Last week, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged a detainee and 10 fugitives, including Mawlawi and Mansour, with “belonging to an armed terrorist group in order to stage terrorist acts, and holing up at a Tripoli mosque with the aim of preparing bombs and explosive devices to target Lebanese army troops in the area.”


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