Naharnet

Jumblat Says Tripoli Frontier Can't Change Course of Syrian Conflict

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.

He accused the Syrian regime of “impeding all the political initiatives, especially the first initiative that was launched by the Arab League.”

"If some Lebanese political forces believe that they can change the course of the conflict in Syria through Tripoli's gate, then their bets are irrelevant and out of place amid the escalation of the conflict,” Jumblat added.

“What is the use from igniting the fire in Tripoli and in settling political scores through sectarian incitement?” Jumblat asked.

“It's about time for some politicians in Tripoli and some domestic and foreign parties to stop their nonstop efforts to systematically arm and finance some parties and militias and the leaders of the fighting frontiers,” he went on to say.

He called for “embracing the Lebanese army more than ever, because it represents the authority of the state, which remains the only sanctuary for Tripoli's residents and the Lebanese in general.”

A new wave of Syria-linked clashes between Sunni and Alawite residents of Tripoli has killed at least six people in less than 24 hours.

The latest confrontations come after a brief lull in the violence between the two sides, after a flare-up last month left 31 people dead and more than 200 wounded.

The city has so far witnessed around 17 rounds of fighting which intensified when the now more than two-year conflict erupted in Syria.


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