Diab on Tripoli Clashes: Criminals Shall be Brought to Justice

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Friday condemned the overnight clashes in the northern city of Tripoli and assured that “criminals will be brought to justice.”

“Tripoli’s loss in chaos and rioting aims to tarnish its image,” said Diab in a statement, adding “the criminals who wrecked havoc in the city and in its official educational and economic institutions shall be brought to justice.”

Diab stated that the city is being used as an “arena to deliver fiery political messages that only brought havoc upon the city.”

A new round of clashes broke out Thursday afternoon in Tripoli between security forces and demonstrators protesting dire economic conditions aggravated by the coronavirus lockdown.

The protesters staged several attempts to storm Tripoli's serail, the main governmental building in the city, prompting security forces to fire tear gas from rooftops. They later managed to remove a part of the metallic gate of the building.

In the evening, the protesters heavily hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at security forces protecting the serail.

The Internal Security Forces meanwhile said that a "military hand grenade" landed inside the premises of the serail, lightly injuring an ISF member.

Security forces had earlier fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the city’s al-Nour Square.

Thursday's clashes between protesters and security forces injured more than 40 people, according to the National News Agency, adding to the more than 300 wounded since confrontations started this week.

Frustrations have boiled over in Tripoli amid deteriorating living conditions and strict coronavirus lockdown measures. The violence marks a serious escalation in protests that began Monday and are still ongoing until the moment.