Miqati Voices Support to Army Measures in Tripoli, Calls on Parties to Resume Dialogue

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati expressed relief on Sunday over the measures undertaken by the Lebanese army to control the situation in the northern city of Tripoli, stressing that all officials fully support the military in its actions.

Miqati called in a statement issued by his press office the army command to intensify the measures in the Tripoli to comfort the citizens in the northern city, which image was tarnished by the absurd battles.

The rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen exchanged gunfire on Friday.

Tripoli has witnessed recurrent clashes between the Sunni-majority neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the mainly Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen.

The clashes have become more frequent and deadly since the beginning of the Syrian uprising, which pits the Sunni-led opposition against the regime of President Bashar Assad, who is Alawite.

Tripoli police chief Brig. Gen. Bassam al-Ayyoubi announced early August the launching of a crackdown on gunmen in the northern city.

The caretaker PM urged the city's prominent figures to contribute in spreading calm in the city by ending the strong rhetoric amid a period filled with challenges.

Miqati considered the political situation in the city “alarming,” calling on all sides to resume dialogue in order to surpass the “difficult stage in the region.”

He wondered where's the national interest by involving Lebanon in the battles of others, calling on the Lebanese to re-adopt the dissociation policy and resolve the local crises.

“Exchanging the blame will not benefit us... We should swiftly form a unity cabinet and resume dialogue without setting any preconditions,” Miqati said.

Lebanon is deeply divided into supporters and opponents of the regime in neighboring Syria and the conflict now in its third year has stoked sectarian tensions and violence in the country.