At least 14 dead as army deploys in Lebanon’s Tripoli
al-Akhbar, Jun 3 2012

Lebanon’s army deployed in the country’s second city Tripoli on Sunday, after fierce clashes between rival militias left at least 14 people dead and dozens injured. Despite the deployment there were reports of fresh clashes between between pro and anti-Syrian regime gunmen. A security official said:

There was fierce fighting throughout the night, which killed two people and left 12 injured, bringing the death toll since Saturday to 14 dead and 48 wounded. There was great material damage.

Alawis from the Jabal Mohsen district have fought on-off skirmishes over the past few weeks with Sunnis from Bab al-Tabbaneh. Among those dead was a young boy in the Abi-Samra area, while a passer-by was killed in Mankoubeen. The army deployed in the Bab al-Tabbaneh area after a meeting in which PM Mikati met with leaders of the city and security heads at his home in Tripoli to reach an accord on the implementation of security measures and removal of arms. The National News Agency reported that several shells “fell during the night in areas relatively distant from the scene of the clashes.” The army and internal security forces were instructed to “take immediate measures to stop the clashes in Tripoli without discrimination” during a meeting at night under the auspices of the premier, who hails from Tripoli. The NNA reported that security forces were told to “strike with an iron fist and to deal firmly and decisively with those tampering with security and stability of the city.” A statement issued from the meeting stressed that “all leaders of the city withdraw all political cover for the abusers of security and stability” and urged a “removal of all forms of weaponry from streets and neighborhoods.” Interior Minister Charbel announced that “all parties agree that the army and internal security forces should enter the areas of the clashes and the security plan to halt the unrest will commence at 5.00 am” on Sunday. The exchange of fire has escalated since it began at around midnight Friday and continued intermittently through Saturday, including mortar fire.