TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Violence could erupt again in the north at any moment, according to Future bloc MP Khaled Daher, who accused the Army of using more force than was necessary in recent clashes in the area in order to cover up for Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria.
“Is the problem over in Tripoli? Was it addressed properly? Or will state [security] agencies set more traps in the city?” Daher said in an interview with The Daily Star at his Tripoli residence.
He said that he expected Army Intelligence to continue to stir up trouble in the area.
A harsh critic of the Army because of what he deems its targeting of Sunnis, Daher made headlines in October when media reports that Ahmad Salim Mikati, an ISIS-affiliated man arrested during an Army raid the same month, had confessed to having had a WhatsApp conversation with the lawmaker.
But Daher dismissed the media reports, saying he did not have any links to the suspect.
“These accusations are silly. I met Mikati 11 or 12 years ago and that’s it,” he said. “I did not telephone him and he did not telephone me.
“I do not even have his phone number ... If he had telephoned me, I would have warned him against making mistakes.”
The Army clashed with Islamist militants inspired by ISIS and the Nusra Front in Tripoli and other parts of the north shortly after the raid. The military was able to restore order in the north after four days of fighting.
The battles in Tripoli were led by fugitive Islamists Shadi Mawlawi and Osama Mansour. The fighting killed 42 people, including eight civilians, 11 soldiers and 23 gunmen.
Daher said that Army Intelligence personnel should be held accountable for disproportionate use of force during Tripoli’s battle.
“How many fighters battled the Army in the Tripoli souqs? Just 13 ... does this require using tanks, artillery and thousands of soldiers?” Daher said, adding that Mansour and Mawlawi had had only 20 fighters.
“Why blow the problem out of proportion when it is small? Why don’t you address it properly? Why are you trying to make out to the Americans, Arab states and embassies that there is a big problem and terrorism?
“Honestly, this is aimed at covering up the terrorist activities of Hezbollah, which is sending thousands of fighters to Syria.”
Daher also accused the Army Intelligence of being behind the rounds of fighting between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad that have plagued Tripoli over the past few years.
He also blamed Tripoli’s political figures, including Future Movement MPs, for not doing enough to protect the northern city.
“Our political and religious leaders are not fulfilling their duties. It is a shame that Tripoli witnesses 20 rounds of fighting and they do not put an end to this by calling a spade a spade and saying who is responsible for it,” he said.
Despite some differences, Daher said he had normal ties with his colleagues in the Future bloc, and that they said in closed-door meetings what he said in public about the Army’s behavior.
Daher explained that media outlets affiliated with both March 8 and March 14 groups were imposing a media blackout on him under the pretext that he was attacking the Lebanese Army.
“There has been a clear attempt to suppress my voice lately because I was raising my voice for the sake of my people and country and in order to reform [state] institutions and prevent what has happened [in Tripoli] from happening,” Daher said. “You are the first people breaking the media siege imposed on me.”
Daher claimed that he had “never attacked the Army” in his life.
“I was criticizing irregularities and warning against insulting and harming supporters of the March 14 coalition, and the Sunnis in particular.”
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