1 Dead, Several Hurt as Sporadic Clashes Continue in Bab al-Tabbaneh, Jabal Mohsen

Intermittent clashes and sniper activity continued on Thursday between the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, leaving one person dead and several others were wounded, including soldiers.

“Six soldiers were wounded when they came under gunfire while chasing a fugitive in Bab al-Tabbaneh,” Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported.

It earlier said a soldier was wounded by sniper fire at the Abu Ali roundabout and that grenades exploded in the Starco and Piccadilly areas.

"Cautious calm is engulfing Bab al-Tabbaneh after the army clashed with an armed group," LBCI television reported later on Thursday.

It earlier said that "a shell landed near an army post in the al-Omari area."

LBCI also said that a young man identified as Hussam al-Turkmani, aka Abu Arab, was seriously wounded in Bab al-Tabbaneh.

Later on Thursday, a security official told Agence France Presse that a man was killed in a clash between army troops and gunmen in Bab al-Tabbaneh.

It was not immediately clear if he was referring to al-Turkmani.

State-run National News Agency had reported that clashes with machineguns broke out between Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.

"Gunshots are still being fired between the Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen areas and along Syria Street while the two grenades exploded in the area and the army is still shooting back at the sources of gunfire," NNA said.

"Gunfire also targeted the Tripoli international highway, especially the Abu Ali River roundabout, while sniper gunshots hit Syria Street, the al-Nasseri Mosque area, Souk al-Qameh and al-Amerkan area," the agency added, noting that army units were pursuing gunmen and staging raids to arrest them.

Earlier on Thursday, NNA said coffee vendor Nibal Suleiman Hasan was wounded by sniper fire in the al-Omari area.

The unrest had returned to Tripoli on Wednesday evening after gunmen shot and wounded four Jabal Mohsen residents in the city despite an army security plan that had managed to end seven days of clashes on Monday.

“Mohammed Abdul Razzaq Abdullah, Nasser Mahfouz and Bilal Ali Mohsen were shot and wounded in the legs at the al-Mallouleh roundabout as they were returning from their workplaces,” state-run National News Agency said.

A fourth Jabal Mohsen resident, Ali Hamad, was shot and wounded in al-Zahriyeh area later on Wednesday.

Tensions were stoked further after the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau summoned ex-MP Ali Eid – leader of the Arab Democratic Party, Jabal Mohsen's main political and armed force – for interrogation in the case of the deadly twin bombings that hit two Sunni mosques in the city in August.

“The ISF Intelligence Bureau crossed red lines when it summoned my father and he will definitely not comply with the request,” said Rifaat Ali Eid, the party's political relations official.

He declared that the accusations against his father are not based on any facts and they are part of a Saudi Arabian agenda to settle scores with Syria.

As Safir newspaper said Ali Eid was summoned over testimonies his driver Ahmed Mohammed Ali had made during the investigation into the Tripoli blasts.

On Sunday, the army deployed in Jabal Mohsen as part of a security plan to put an end to seven days of deadly clashes in the northern city.

At least 14 people were killed and more than 80 wounded in a week of clashes between the two rival neighborhoods. The fighting broke out on October 21 as celebratory gunfire erupted in Jabal Mohsen over Syrian President Bashar Assad’s appearance on al-Mayadeen television for an interview.

The neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen have been for years witnessing deadly gunbattles, but skirmishes began to flare with increasing intensity after the Syrian uprising began in March 2011.