Army trying for dialogue between Tripoli rival factions

The Army Command decided on Thursday to try and initiate dialogue between the fighters of Jebel Mohsen and Bab al Tabbanah with the aim of ending the security violations in the city of Tripoli without involving the politicians.

This comes after the Army Command met privately in Yarzeh with the fighters of the rival factions yesterday; following the meetings the army command issued a statement urging the politicians to refrain from fueling the strife in Tripoli:

“Politicians, regardless of their affiliations and differences, must refrain from fueling strife in Tripoli and stop meddling in the developments in the city.”

The death toll from fighting between the Lebanese Sunni Muslims of Bab al Tabbanah and Alawites of Jebel Mohsen echoing the conflict in Syria climbed to at least 12 on Wednesday, the third day of clashes described as some of the heaviest since Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war.

The Islamic National Gathering agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire that came into effect as of 5:30 p.m., but the fragile truce was shaken by intermittent gunfire that left two people dead and more than 10 wounded.

The initiative was supported by Prime Minister Najib Mikati and granted the army the right to respond to the sources of gunfire.

The army deployed heavily in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods as soon as the ceasefire took effect according to MTV