Eid Accuses Suleiman of Failing to Support Tripoli, Warns Unrest Will Spread throughout Lebanon
Arab Democratic Party chief Rifaat Ali Eid accused on Tuesday President Michel Suleiman of failing to properly tackle the situation in the northern city of Tripoli.
He said during a press conference: “The unrest in the city will spread throughout Lebanon if the situation is not addressed.”
He added: “Suleiman is not supporting Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, but he is dragging him into the Tripoli unrest in order to stop him from taking his place as president.”
Eid explained that fighters from Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen neighborhood were forced to wage a battle in the city on May 21 after the “provocations against it became unbearable.”
“The fighters only waged one battle, while the remaining unrest were just skirmishes,” he said of the clashes with the rival neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh.
In addition, he stated that the fighting intensified in Tripoli after gunmen that were seeking to take part in battles in Syria's al-Qusayr region decided to return to the city and take part in the clashes.
He revealed a network from the Free Syrian Army was involved in the Tripoli unrest.
Moreover, he accused the army of being biased in tackling the situation, saying: “It responds to us with weapons, while it responds to the other side with words.”
“We accuse the state of these shortcomings,” declared Eid.
“Why didn't Monday's cabinet session tackle the unrest in Tripoli?” he wondered.
“Lebanon's borders are breached and terrorism is arriving in Tripoli from Syria,” warned the Arab Democratic Party chief.
“We want guarantees that our existence will be preserved should the unrest subside,” he demanded.
Eid also announced that he will run in the parliamentary elections according to the 1960 electoral law.
Clashes between Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen broke out on May 19.
The sectarian fighting between the two main neighborhoods stretches back four decades to Lebanon's civil war, but it has become more frequent and increasingly lethal since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011. The two districts support opposite sides.
The latest round of gunbattles had been the bloodiest yet, leaving at least 31 dead and more than 200 wounded.
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