http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Aug-23/185440-clashes-defy-tripoli-cease-fire.ashx#axzz24KFgLh00
Clashes defy Tripoli cease-fireAugust 23, 2012 01:51 AMBy Misbah al-Ali, Antoine Amrieh
| The Daily Star |
 |
| A Lebanese Army soldier fires his weapon during clashes in Tripoli between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime. |
 |  |
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Sporadic exchanges of gunfire persisted in Lebanon’s second-largest city Wednesday night despite a cease-fire agreement between rival groups to end three days of fierce clashes that killed at least 12 people.
A senior security source, however, said the cease-fire was precarious at best despite the deployment of Lebanese Army units in the battle zone and expressed fears that fighting between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Tripoli was likely to resume in the next few hours.
Meanwhile, a senior United Nations official warned that the fighting was a sign that the Syrian crisis was spilling over into Lebanon.
“As the crisis in Syria continues to deteriorate, the situation in Lebanon has become more precarious and the need for continued international support for the government and the Lebanese Armed Forces increasingly important,” U.N. Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said in New York.
“Tensions over domestic and security concerns remain high throughout the country and are easily exacerbated by developments in Syria,” added the former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the senior security source said there was still no political consensus for fighting to end in Tripoli. “Tonight the fighters are resting.”
The security source added that the Bab al-Tabbaneh fighters had run out of ammunition and were waiting to replenish their stock before engaging in a new round of clashes.
Also, according to the source, some anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad groups in Bab al-Tabbaneh have not agreed to the cease-fire, dimming hopes of a possible conclusive end to the fighting.
In a bid to resolve the crisis in the city, political and security officials met at Future Movement lawmaker Mohammad Kabbara’s residence and agreed to a cease-fire that went into effect at 5:30 p.m.
The officials also called on the Lebanese Army to deploy in all conflict zones.
Mikati, who held talks with President Michel Sleiman over the situation in Tripoli, called on the Army and the security forces to “be strict in controlling the [security] situation, prevent [clashes] and arrest those challenging the security [of Tripoli],” he was quoted as saying by the state-run National News Agency.
Army units entered Syria Street, which separates the rival districts.
However, the security source denied that the Army had carried out a “wide-ranging” deployment as it still lacked the necessary political cover since it had been given orders to deploy rather than intervene to end the conflict. “The military has dispatched only five vehicles to Bab al-Tabbaneh that are carrying out ... patrols along Syria Street,” the source added.
The three-day clashes had intensified earlier Wednesday between gunmen in the anti-Assad Sunni stronghold of Bab al-Tabbaneh and others in the Alawite-dominated pro-Assad Jabal Mohsen district, killing 12 people, including a soldier, and wounding over 76. Among the wounded are 11 soldiers and a policeman.
Meanwhile, the Army called on political leaders “not to intervene on the ground” or contribute to the conflict by instigating disputes, asking them to behave responsibly during this difficult phase.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the Army also denied that it had withdrawn from conflict zones, saying it continued to adhere to a comprehensive military plan. It expressed readiness to engage in dialogue with rival field commanders in the city “to bury sedition and defuse tensions,” and expose those undermining security.
Earlier Wednesday, there was no Army presence in either Bab al-Tabbaneh or Jabal Mohsen, but four military vehicles were stationed on Syria Street.
The Army was responding to sources of sniper fire which forced the closure of the highway connecting Tripoli to the northern city of Akkar.
On the streets of Bab al-Tabbaneh, gunmen – some of whom are children – continue to roam freely.
Khaled al-Sayyed, the newly appointed spokesperson for armed groups in Bab al-Tabbaneh, told The Daily Star that the groups had no intention to reignite the conflict and urged the Army to intervene when necessary.
Fighters accused the government of providing political cover for their rival, Arab Democratic Party head Rifaat Eid.
Eid, who during similar clashes in Tripoli earlier this year called for the return of the Syrian army so that it might restore calm, said that his party was not armed but that its members were, adding that combating the proliferation of weapons in the country requires dialogue.
Speaking to Al-Jadeed television station, Eid also urged Sleiman to give Tripoli more attention in future National Dialogue sessions.
Earlier Wednesday, Saad al-Masri, a gunman who held sway in one of the main districts of Bab al-Tabbaneh, was buried in a large funeral.
Lebanon’s stability has been in the spotlight since Syria’s uprising – now in its 18th month – intensified at the start of this year. Differences over the uprising have exacerbated tensions between Lebanon’s already divided political camps: the pro-Assad March 8 alliance and pro-opposition March 14 coalition.
The violence came less than a week after Lebanon was jolted by a wave of kidnappings of Syrians and two Turkish nationals by the Meqdad clan and other groups that seek to exchange them for 12 Lebanese held hostage by Syrian rebels.
A Meqdad family member was recently kidnapped by Syrian rebels in Damascus and 11 Lebanese pilgrims were abducted in May.
The violence came less than a week after Lebanon was jolted by a wave of kidnappings of Syrians and two Turkish nationals by the Meqdad clan and other groups that seek to exchange them for 12 Lebanese held hostage by Syrian rebels.
A Meqdad family member was recently kidnapped by Syrian rebels in Damascus and 11 Lebanese pilgrims were abducted in May.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/2012819847738356.html
| Kidnappings expose Lebanon weakness | |
Tit-for-tat abductions linked to violence in neighbouring Syria bring to fore government's inability to restore order.
Nour Samaha Last Modified: 19 Aug 2012 13:00
| |
Rival clans and militias have set up checkpoints as the government is pressured to restore order [Reuters]
| |
| Beirut, Lebanon - The reprisal kidnappings of over 20 Syrians and a Turkish national in Lebanon by one of the country’s biggest clans have demonstrated the weakness of Lebanon's government in the face of escalating tensions. The Meqdads, a clan claiming to consist of over 10,000 eligible voters, took matters into their own hands a few days ago after one of their family members, Hassan al Meqdad, was kidnapped by Syrian rebels, who displayed him, bruised and beaten on a video, claiming him to be a sniper for the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah.
Immediately dismissing any links to Hezbollah, the family vowed to respond to Hassan’s kidnapping with their own operation if he was not released immediately. True to their word, the clan's self-declared "military wing" announced on Thursday the abduction of over 20 Syrians, allegedly members of the Free Syrian Army, as well as one Turkish national.
By Friday, they had released 21 Syrians who they said were not involved with the FSA, refusing to disclose how many they still held, but insisting those who remained were important members of the FSA. “We don’t consider ourselves above the law, but when there is no state, like now, then we need to act to protect ourselves,” Maher al Meqdad told Al Jazeera, sitting outside the family home on a street which carries their name in the heart of Dahyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs. “We waited for the government to do something and they didn’t. Therefore, we were forced to do something to bring back our son.” “The Free Syrian Army kidnapped 11 Shia Lebanese four months ago, and until now, the government has done nothing to bring them back,” he said, referring to the case of 11 pilgrims who were kidnapped by an alleged affiliate of the FSA in Syria in May. While several TV crews have since visited the pilgrims, even on one occasion bringing with them family members of the kidnapped, the Lebanese government has done little to secure their release, in what the Shia community interprets as a lack of official concern. “We don’t want this for our family, so we believe [the kidnappings] are the only way to bring back our son,” al Meqdad said. “Let me be clear; they kill Hassan, and we will kill the Turk, inshallah.” Tit for tat Within hours of Thursday’s kidnappings, Lebanon's security situation quickly deteriorated.
Ali, a Syrian worker who has been living and working in Beirut for the last 15 years, told Al Jazeera that he was attacked and threatened on Friday by a group of Lebanese while waiting for work.
“This is the first time the situation has become this scary. People are mad, so there is now an expectation of violence and repercussions,” he said. “We have nothing to do with the kidnappings in Syria. The ones who did the kidnapping are inside Syria, so go and take them from inside Syria.”
The abductions are not limited to Syrian nationals. One previously unknown group kidnapped Lebanese businessman Raja Zuheiri on Thursday, demanding a ransom of $1m. Another group kidnapped a Turkish national on the same day. To add fuel to the fire, an airstrike hit Aazaz in Syria, the area where the 11 kidnapped pilgrims were being held. Conflicting reports on casualties from the attack stoked the perception of chaos. Internationally, members of the Meqdad clan held Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia responsible for the kidnapping of Hassan, causing all Gulf states and Turkey to call for the immediate evacuation of their nationals in Lebanon. The tensions spread to the streets of Beirut as the families of the pilgrims as well as supporters of the Meqdads blocked roads, burnt tyres, and closed down the airport road, forcing a plane from France to be diverted (via Damascus) to Cyprus. Local journalists were attacked by protesters as they attempted to cover the events. Assailants fired shots at one reporter while journalists covering protests near the Nasnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria were pelted with stones. Masked gunmen took the streets in Dahyeh, a predominately Shia suburb south of Beirut, while other groups of gunmen set up checkpoints in the northern city of Tripoli. By Friday evening, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, came out and gave a speech stating that recent events were out of "Hezbollah and Amal’s control”. 'State without a government' Lebanese politicians opposed to the current government called for its resignation, calling it incapable of dealing with the deteriorating security situation, and blaming the clans as acting on Hezbollah's behest.
“This government is absent, as everyone has the freedom to act as he chooses and behave without order. This is putting the country in jeopardy,” he said.
“Those responsible are no longer at the level where they can control the situation, and these actions are the result of the Syrian government trying to destabilise Lebanon,” he said, adding that the opposition is considering calling for a no confidence vote. “We need to stop the outlaws….we have never reached this level of behaviour before.” The kidnappings are seen as the latest in a series of actions which demonstrate a pre-existing notion that the government is weak and attempting to rule through negotiations with groups involved in illegal activity rather than upholding the law. While many residents of Dahyeh are sympathetic to the Meqdad's situation, there is an underlying concern of how far the situation will escalate. “The Shia are targets for the Syrian opposition and the government is not doing anything. If it was any other sect, the situation would be different,” Sleiman, a resident of Hay al Sellom, told Al Jazeera. “I would’ve done the same thing as the Meqdads if a member of my family was kidnapped.” For Jamal, also a resident of Hay al Sellom, “this is just a small detail in the bigger picture. The longer we have a state without a government, the worse things will get”. “Those Syrians who were kidnapped by the Meqdads have nothing to do with the situation, because they were not the ones who kidnapped Hassan el Meqdad,” he said. “Innocent Syrian workers should not be targeted.” Maher el Meqdad, who recently called for an end to military operations, has one main concern: Bringing back his relative alive from Syria. Anything else that happens in the country is not his problem, he said. “People have been saying that the chaos over the last couple of days is because of the ‘Meqdadi’ way, but these comments don’t bother me,” he shrugged. “We are not responsible for the actions of others, and we have control over our own people.” |
No comments:
Post a Comment