Tripoli Figures Condemn Bus Attack as Al-Tabbaneh Cleric Defends Taking Matters into Own Hands

Tripoli figures condemned on Sunday the attack on Alawite men who hail from the northern Jabal Mohsen neighborhood, stating that this incident is “strange to the city's history.”

"We condemn the attack against unarmed citizens and we call on security forces to identify and prosecute the assailants,” Tripoli figures said in a released statement after a meeting at al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Mohammed Kabbara's house.

"This is strange to the city's history, traditions and to the ethics of Tripoli's residents.”

The statement pointed out that what is happening should not divert the attention from the “main issue,” which is the double explosion that targeted two mosques in Tripoli.

"We urge prosecuting the terrorist group that executed the blasts and unveiling its members' identities and uncovering their ties with the Syrian intelligence,” it said.

“Any criminal act that is undertaken as a response to the Tripoli bombings will only lead to overshadowing the huge terrorist attack and will serve the (Syrian President) Bashar Assad's regime, which will use it to claim that it is the protector of minorities.”

The leaders assured that they will follow-up on Saturday's crime.

The conferees stressed that the army and security forces are the "guarantee for citizens' security."

"And any aggression against them is a part of a conspiracy targeting the security of the city,” they noted.

The statement said that continuous sniper activity threatens people's safety and leads to the eruption of clashes.

"The army must strictly and seriously deal with this issue.”

The figures also condemned the “suspicious and hateful” campaigns launched against the Internal Security Forces' Intelligence Bureau, saying that this “national institution proved its skillfulness in uncovering criminal and spying networks.”

In a related matter, a spokesperson of the residents of Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood considered earlier on Sunday that the attack on workers in the northern city's Jabal Mohsen area happened because “the criminal” is not being punished for his activities.

"When the oppressed sees that criminals are not being punished, he takes matters into his own hands,” Sheikh Khaled al-Sayyed said at a press conference.

The cleric elaborated: “What started the crisis in Tripoli was hurling a bomb by Ali al-Zammar from Jabal Mohsen, leading to the death of two people in the area. Al-Zammar is still free and in protection instead of being arrested by concerned authorities ”

"Not dealing with such crimes by the state is what opened the door to other transgressions.”

At least six residents from the Tripoli neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen were wounded on Saturday when a van carrying eight passengers came under attack by masked gunmen in the area of al-Tabbaneh near Dar al-Salam school.

The assailants took the passengers at gunpoint to local streets in the area and shot six of them in their feet.

Al-Sayyed added: “The state's leniency in dealing with the case of former Minister Michel Samaha is what permitted explosions to take place in Tripoli and (the Beirut neighborhood of) Dahieh.”

Lebanese judicial authorities have charged Samaha and Syrian security chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk with forming a group to commit terrorist crimes in Lebanon.

The two were also charged with plotting to assassinate political and religious figures.

Al-Sayyed criticized statements made by the Islamic Alawite Council head, saying that Sheikh Assad Assi has announced protecting “criminals.”

"Assi also incited sectarian strife in his speech,” he expressed.

Assi had stressed on Thursday that the Council will not tolerate the summoning of top Alawite leader Ali Eid for interrogation in the case of the deadly twin bombings that rocked Tripoli in August.

Al-Sayyed considered that Tripoli “feels humiliated” when the state does not act against those who bombed its mosques.

"I wonder how the assassins of MPs, ministers and Prime Ministers are called a resistance,” he said.

"Tripoli feels that the security plan adopted in the city was meant to contain it while its enemies are placing bombs.”

At least 45 people were killed and 900 others were wounded in a twin blast that targeted the northern city in August.

The first bomb struck in the city center at the al-Salam mosque as worshipers were still inside.

The second explosion struck just minutes later outside al-Taqwa mosque, about two kilometers away, near the port.