Tripoli Ulemas Accuse Assad of Blasts, Demand Popular Committees to Help Control Security

Tripoli Salafist cleric Sheikh Salem al-Rafei accused on Saturday the Syrian regime of carrying out the blasts that rocked Ruwais neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs and the northern city of Tripoli, pointing out that if the state can't protect the city then the residents will.

“We are the victims of the Syrian terrorism. We are not takfiris,” al-Rafei told reports after a meeting for the Committee of Muslim Ulemas.

He lashed out at the government, saying: “if the government is incapable of acting responsible then it should leave.”

On Friday, powerful car bombs exploded outside two Sunni mosques in Tripoli, killing at least 45 people and wounding hundreds.

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.

Al-Rafei called on Hizbullah to stop helping the regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad and to withdraw from the neighboring country.

“Let us kick-start a new beginning,” he urged Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

A statement issued after the committee's meeting called for the formation of organized popular committees to help control the security situation in the northern city of Tripoli.

“Hizbullah should withdraw from Syria immediately,” the Ulemas added.

In a broadcast speech he gave at a ceremony marking the end of the July 2006 war, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah explained that his combat in Syria is against Takfiris, vowing that he is “ready to personally go fight in Syria if necessary.”

The Ulemas called on the security agencies to demolish the hotspots in the northern city that support the Assad regime and to detain those who are responsible for the blasts across the country.

“The army and security forces should defend citizens in Arsal and prevent Hizbullah militia from killing others,” the statement pointed out.

Al-Rafei said that the state's security agencies are not protecting Tripoli.

“Either the state defends us or we will defend ourselves,” he told reporters.

He revealed that a bulldozer removed all the evidence from the blasts sites, noting that he was informed by security agencies that he was targeted.

“They told me they can't protect me,” the salafist cleric said.

Tripoli has seen frequent Syria-related violence during the past two years, including waves of deadly clashes.

Lebanon is officially neutral in Syria's conflict, but the country is deeply divided.