Charbel Slams Tripoli's 'Blind Hatred'

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel has blamed the recent bout of fighting in the northern city of Tripoli on the “blind hatred” between rival neighborhoods.

Such hatred grew after the twin car bombings that targeted two Sunni mosques in Tripoli last August, Charbel said in remarks to al-Mustaqbal daily published on Monday.

The hostility expanded after the attack on Jabal Mohsen residents, he said.

The latest round of fighting between that district and Bab al-Tabbaneh - two impoverished neighborhoods - erupted last week when several workers from Jabal Mohsen were shot in their feet.

“Each warring party wants to prove its influence,” Charbel told al-Mustaqbal. “The issue has gone beyond the exchange of gunfire and rocket attacks, reaching a threat to close schools.”

“Security forces and agencies can no longer find a solution” to the growing problem, he said.

Charbel called for a “big political decision” announced by the officials responsible for the fighting to reach a cease-fire.

He hoped that placing the security forces under the command of the army in Tripoli would be part of the solution.

Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati announced such a move over the weekend.