Grenades, Unrest as Tensions Linked to Syrian Vote Spread to Tripoli

The northern city of Tripoli witnessed several security incidents on Thursday evening in connection with the Lebanese-Syrian unrest that rocked several Lebanese regions during the day.

As assailants in the city torched the Kataeb Party’s office and a clinic affiliated with the Lebanese Forces with Molotov cocktails, an Energa-type, rifle-fired grenade was launched in the area between al-Qobbeh and Bab al-Tabbaneh, wounding two people.

The army meanwhile imposed a security cordon around the LF’s office in the city to prevent any attacks.

Also in Tripoli, a road leading to Jabal Mohsen witnessed tensions after young men blocked the neighborhood’s entrance and burned flags of Israel and the LF in protest at attacks on Syrian voters in Nahr el-Kalb. The army eventually closed a nearby road, especially after young men in Bab al-Tabbaneh burned a Syrian flag.

Earlier in the day, young men had blocked the al-Nour Square roundabout in protest at convoys by Syrians who support President Bashar al-Assad, calling for the deportation of any Syrian who voted for him at the Syrian embassy.

Jabal Mohsen had also witnessed a protest over the wounding of many of its residents in attacks by Lebanese mobs on Syrian voters earlier in the day.

Scattered mobs, led by LF supporters, had earlier intercepted cars and buses plastered with pictures of Assad and carrying Syrian flags and voters at intersections in and outside Beirut and in the eastern Bekaa region.

There were no official reports on how many were injured.

"If they want to vote, they can go home and vote there," said Fadi Nader, a Lebanese protester. "Since they love Bashar Assad, why don't they go home?"

Calls for Syrians to go home have been a widely politicized issue among Lebanese, deeply divided over the 10-year conflict in Syria, some supporting Assad and others backing his opposition.

The violence came a day after LF leader Samir Geagea called for those who vote for Assad to go back home immediately since they are clearly not fearful of his government.

Even before the conflict, Syria's role in Lebanon was deeply divisive. Syrian troops -- deployed in Lebanon in 1976, shortly after the civil war broke out -- withdrew in 2005 following massive protests and a U.N. resolution, after a 29-year domination of Lebanese politics.

It's a dilemma for Syrians living in Lebanon. Many say they are not ready to return home because of fear of prosecution in the absence of a peace deal. The U.N., the EU and the U.S. say conditions are not ripe for the return of millions of refugees.

The Biden administration has said it will not recognize the result of Syria's presidential election.

France and Germany banned any voting at Syrian missions in their country, with a French Foreign Ministry official saying the elections are "null and void" and there is no point in holding them.

Syria has been engulfed in civil war since 2011, when Arab Spring-inspired protests against the Assad family rule turned into an armed insurgency in response to a brutal military crackdown. Around half a million people have been killed and half the country's population has been displaced.