The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
As-Safir
Tripoli is under threat ... who will prevent this "great fire?"
The clashes in Tripoli killed a gunman and wounded a number of armed men while eight soldiers were wounded, including an officer who remained in critical condition. A security source told As-Safir that the clashes "were not a surprise but expected," saying that the incident was tied to the recent arrest of a terror cell in the north.
"If this battle expands, it will be much different than the rest," the source said.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk told As-Safir that "treating Tripoli with sedatives was no longer useful."
Other sources said last week’s raids in the Akkar region had led to the arrest of several terror suspects who confessed to planning terrorist attacks and the led to the dismantling of several terror networks affiliated with ISIS and the Nusra Front.
An-Nahar
The cells retaliate for the Asoun raid in Tripoli
An-Nahar obtained information that around 50 gunmen deployed around the Army in Tripoli and began running in different directions and firing at the military unit. The Army quickly blocked several roads, preventing the gunmen from reaching other militants to carry out what seemed to be a planned attack against the Army.
As for the case of the kidnapped soldiers and policemen, the Lebanese side is still waiting for the Qatari mediator to return with the demands of the militants. Head of General Security Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who the government tasked with following up on the case, has agreed with the Qatari mediator for the latter to be the only side negotiating the release. Local figures and sheikhs who offered to negotiate and were in the process of negotiating were only complicating the issue.
Al-Akhbar
No chances for Geagea in the presidency
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri told Sami Gemayel during their meeting in Saudi Arabia earlier this week that Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea had no chance of reaching the presidency, according to Kataeb Party sources. The sources also said that the Kataeb Party would take part in a parliamentary session to vote on extending the legislative branch's mandate but "won't vote in favor of the draft law."
The extension and the presidency were the topics Hariri and Gemayel discussed, the sources said, adding that the Saudis advised them to play "our role as Christians especially amid the situation in the region." The sources said the Saudis did not “tell us what to do with regards to local affairs.”
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