The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest for The Daily Star's readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of the reports.
Local newspapers’ headlines were unanimous in previewing an open-ended war in Tripoli where the Army appears to be determined to end the hegemony of Nusra-linked extremist gunmen, amid fears of violence spreading to other parts of Lebanon.
Al-Liwaa
Tightening the noose on gunmen
The Lebanese Army agreed on a “humanitarian truce” to allow the evacuation of civilians and the wounded from Bab al-Tabbaneh after 70 hours of fierce battles that signaled the Army’s determination to end the militiamen’s control of the poor neighborhood.
The newspaper quoted military sources as saying that truce negotiations also centered on two proposals. One proposal called for the surrender of all the gunmen in return for guarantees that they would get a just trial, while a second proposal suggested allowing the gunmen to withdraw and return to the areas from which they came.
Al-Joumhouria
No compromise over Tripoli’s security
The Army will go for a radical solution and will not stop the operation in Tripoli until it stamps out all the extremist gunmen loyal to Shadi Mawlawi and Osama Mansour from Bab al-Tabbaneh, the newspaper quoted military sources as saying.
The sources insisted that there would be no compromise on Tripoli’s security and that reports about a possible mediation to stop the fighting and spare the gunmen were unfounded.
The paper quoted Speaker Nabih Berri as blaming the raging violence in Tripoli on certain politicians whom, he said, have been mobilizing people with provocative rhetoric, money and weapons.
“Security can only be imposed by force, and the problem is not with the Army or the civilians but with politicians,” Berri was quoted as saying, in obvious allusion to north Lebanon’s Sunni MPs who blame the rise of Sunni extremism on Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria on the side of the regime.
An-Nahar
Army has political cover to strike at terrorists,
The Army Command has a unanimous political support to strike terrorist groups with an iron fist in Tripoli and Minyeh and anywhere there is a terror threat, including Palestinian refugee camps, the paper said. It quoted political sources as saying that top Sunni leaders, including Future Movement chief Saad Hariri, PM Tammam Salam and former PM Fouad Siniora, vowed unconditional support for the Army’s decision to continue operations until all terrorist cells are eliminated.
The Army has, in the meantime, stepped up security measures around the Palestinian camp of Ain al-Hilweh near Sidon, a hotbed for Al-Qaeda-inspired Sunni extremist groups, and a haven for outlaws wanted by the Lebanese authorities.
No comments:
Post a Comment