Sunday, 26 October 2014

Syrian involved in soldiers’ kidnapping arrested


Syrian involved in soldiers’ kidnapping arrested


Authorities have arrested a Syrian man involved in the kidnapping of Lebanese soldiers and policemen in the...



Army offensive signals open-ended war


TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Lebanon stood firmly behind its Army in its war against homegrown terrorism Sunday as the death toll from three days of pitched battles between troops and jihadists rose to at least 28.


The Army’s anti-terror push, backed by the country’s political leaders, heralded an open-ended confrontation with militants inspired by ISIS and Nusra Front who are fighting to establish a foothold in the multi-sectarian country.


The Army pledged to press on with its offensive until all the militants are crushed, a security source told The Daily Star, adding that the military was operating according to clear-cut dictums.


“The Army has three ‘Nos,’” the source said. “No to a cease-fire, no to safe corridors for terrorists and no to self-proclaimed security zones.”


According to the source, the spirits of troops were high and the Army had the upper hand in the battles.


Three days of running street battles between Lebanese troops and militants in the northern city of Tripoli and the district of Minyeh left at least 11 soldiers, 11 gunmen and six civilians dead, and more than 60 people wounded in the worst spillover of the war in Syria into Lebanese territory since ISIS and Nusra Front briefly overran the border town of Arsal in August.


Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri threw their weight behind the Army in its battle against terrorism.


“The political authority gives all the support to the Army and to security forces to the battle they are waging to crush terrorism,” Salam said in a statement.


Salam said the Army’s campaign against terrorist groups is irreversible. “The military and security measures taken by the armed forces and our choice [to combat] terrorism are irreversible,” he told visitors at his home in Mseitbeh. “We have no choice but to continue curbing and eliminating terrorism by any means.”


Berri blamed the outbreak of the new fighting in Tripoli on “speeches inflaming [sectarian] incitement and the distribution of money and arms” in the city.


“Security cannot be attained except by force and firmness,” Berri was quoted by visitors as saying. “The problem is not with the military or civilians, but with some politicians. It is not permissible at this stage when the Army is fighting a fierce battle against terrorism to criticize it along with its command.”


Meanwhile, the Nusra Front threatened to execute Ali Bazzal, one of the Lebanese soldiers it is holding captive, at 5 a.m. Monday after accusing the Lebanese Army of “cheating to gain time” and failing to meet its demand to end the offensive against militants in Tripoli.


In a statement posted on a Twitter account, the Nusra Front said it listed the name of captive George Khoury on the next hit list as a means of pressure to avoid a further deterioration of the internal situation in Lebanon.


Four soldiers were killed and six others wounded when militants ambushed two Army vehicles in Jisr al-Mhammra in Minyeh as the military continued to fight pockets of militants in the district, north of Tripoli.


Lebanese Army helicopter gunships blasted for the first time militant hideouts in north Lebanon Sunday after fighting between the military and jihadists in the city’s old souks intensified sharply overnight.


Army patrol units launched blistering attacks on militant hideouts inside Bab al-Tabbaneh, the first time troops penetrated deep inside the heavily armed neighborhood.


Militants and soldiers clashed in Bab al-Tabbaneh with machine guns and grenades, causing heavy damage to several apartment units being used by militants to attack the Army.


Also, 12 civilians were wounded when a mortar was fired near Bab al-Tabbaneh’s Harba Mosque. Ambulances that rushed to the scene couldn’t reach the area because of heavy gunfire that erupted after the crash.


A humanitarian corridor was observed Sunday evening in Bab al-Tabbaneh to allow the Red Cross to evacuate dozens of women and children after Salam appealed to Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi.


Residents of poverty-stricken Bab al-Tabbaneh reacted to the violence with grief. “Bab al-Tabbaneh residents, who already live in dire conditions, pay the price every single time,” shop-owner Ahmad Zoabi told The Daily Star. “If the state looked after us and provided job opportunities to the youth, none of this would have happened.”


Another resident began to weep as he spoke of the conditions in the neighborhood. “No one feels our suffering. No one stands by us,” Wadih Hoda said as he wiped away tears. “I hope that the Lebanese Army will help Tabbaneh’s children live a better life.”


Scores of families fled Tripoli to the nearby Dinnieh. Others sought refuge in safer areas of the city.


“The era of firing and assaulting the Army and then hiding inside Bab al-Tabbaneh is over,” a security source said, adding that troops were responding to attacks on their patrols with exceptionally heavy fire.


Three rigged cars and a weapons cache packed with ammunition and military gear, in addition to 50 explosive devices set for detonation, were seized by the Army during early morning raids in Minyeh, an Army statement said.


In an unprecedented move for the military in Tripoli, an Army helicopter targeted the Vegetable Market, where militants are holed up, with two rockets at 5:15 a.m. Sunday, security sources told The Daily Star.


Troops heavily deployed within Tripoli’s labyrinth-like old souks and in the Western Saqi area, which runs parallel to Bab al-Tabbaneh, and is considered as the souks only existing corridor toward the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the sources said.


The sources explained that the deployment of the Army in the Saqi was a pre-emptive step to prevent the militants from fleeing toward the coast. A military vessel equipped with a rocket launchpad was stationed off the city’s coast.


Fighting intensified after Tripoli militant leader Shadi al-Mawlawi refused to hand over to authorities soldier Tannous Nehme, who militants had snatched Saturday evening, the source said. Tannous was kidnapped from a taxi that was passing through embattled Bab al-Tabbaneh.


The sources added that Mawlawi received clear instructions from Nusra Front commander Abu Malek al-Talleh not to release the abducted soldier.


But Army Intelligence was able to free Nehme late Sunday evening, media reports said.


Militants affiliated with Mawlawi kidnapped a second soldier Sunday.


Fayez al-Amouri, a first adjutant from the Army’s border regiment, was kidnapped from his home in Bab al-Tabbaneh. According to security sources, Mawlawi has placed the halting of the Army’s operation in Tripoli as a prerequisite to the release of Amouri.


The security sources said that the Army command has made a decision to launch a “full-fledged and conclusive” operation against the militants, thus resorting to aerial attacks for the first time in the city.


Tripoli MPs and local officials called for an immediate cease-fire.


“We call for an immediate cease-fire in order to allow the evacuation of the wounded and the entry of humanitarian aid,” MP Mohammad Kabbara said on behalf of the handful of political and religious figures who met at his residence in Tripoli to discuss the crisis. “We assure that Tripoli has been and remains affiliated with the state’s institutions and against terrorism.”


Education Minister Elias Bou Saab announced that all public and private schools in Tripoli and Minyeh would be closed Monday due to the deteriorating security situation. He also said public schools located in safe areas in Tripoli would be used as temporary shelters for families fleeing the fighting.



Tripoli merchants assess damage


TRIPOLI, Lebanon: To the din of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades reverberating across the city of Tripoli, some 50 shop owners assembled at a cafe near a historic building, where the late former President Camille Chamoun once lived.


The merchants were there to assess the heavy damage caused to their stores by three days of fierce fighting between the Lebanese Army and Islamist militants that has left at least 27 people dead.


A Lebanese Army armored personnel carrier was stationed in the middle of the street leading to Tripoli’s labyrinth-like old souks, the scene of pitched street battles between the Army and ISIS-inspired militants, to prevent the seemingly jittery and angry merchants from heading to inspect the damage at their shell-riddled stores.


“For your own safety, you cannot cross [to your stores]. The battle is still raging and the Army officer’s orders are not to let anyone [into the area] except journalists and ambulances,” a soldier standing near the APC told the shop owners.


The merchants’ talk focused mainly on the size of damage and financial losses incurred to their stores located deep within the old souks – which include the gold souk, the spices souk, the Church Street and Bazarkan souk – as a result of the fighting.


Tripoli’s historic city, which goes back to the Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman eras up to the French Mandate and independence, has a remarkable economic reputation, having been turned into a hub accommodating thousands of various commercial shops visited not only by residents in Tripoli and the north in general, but also by people from other Lebanese areas and abroad.


All of a sudden, Tripoli’s ancient souks and its magnificent vaults were turned into a safe haven for armed groups holed up inside and since Friday night became the scene of fierce battles following the attack on an Army post in the neighborhood of Khan al-Askar.


As the fighting between the Army and militants quickly spread deep into the old souks, engulfing even the narrow alleyways, and the gunmen fired RPGs at military posts and set shops ablaze, the shop owners became increasingly worried about the heavy damage caused to their properties.


In what appeared to be a response to the military orders not to let civilians into the old souks for security reasons, Wassif Jabakhanji, a shop owner sitting on a small chair, said: “I have ascertained that my stores had been completely burned and I have no hope. But it is my right to inspect my properties even if they turned into scattered ashes.”


While the merchants talked about their financial woes, news came that a meeting was being held Saturday at north Lebanon Mufti Malek Shaar’s house in Tripoli and another meeting was held at Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi’s residence attended by the city’s ministers and lawmakers to discuss ways to restore calm to the war-torn city.


One of the assembled shop owners scoffed at the outcome of the two meetings, but another storekeeper acted in a conceited manner after having talked by phone with Rifi, who promised him that the Higher Relief Committee would pay them compensation for the damage.


Commenting on the government’s stance on their ordeal, a shop owner, who refused to be named, said: “It is a one-side love that will never survive. This is our situation with the state. We, thousands of merchants in Tripoli’s souks, are the nerve of this city, its economic lifeline and its social safety valve. We don’t deserve this negligence which brought us to this disaster. Our properties have been turned into a battlefield, while what was required was to protect us rather than compensate us.”


He lashed out at politicians who defended Tripoli’s militant leaders Shadi al-Mawlawi and Osama Mansour and who tried to secure the release of Ahmad Salim Mikati, a key ISIS member, whose capture by the Army had triggered the new round of fighting in Tripoli.


“Those who tried to release Ahmad Salim Mikati are the ones who brought us to disaster. Why should we bet on them again? We and the Lebanese Army are today paying a hefty price for religious extremism. This is a solid fact,” he said.


Broken glass and pieces of stone littering the streets bear witness to ferocious clashes in the old souks, home to the ABC mall owned by Tripoli MP Robert Fadel and a ready-wear clothes factory owned by the Safadi family, in addition to several cloth shops.


Most of the stores’ goods, shoes and clothes, completely burned, were blown out into the street by the exchange of heavy shelling.


The Evangelical Church and Al-Rahibat [nuns] Street, part of Al-Arid Street, were also the scene of battles that spread to Nejmeh Square and the spices souk, where a man and his son were killed by an RPG.


A number of journalists who gathered around soldiers were joined by local residents who shook hands with troops and kissed them, while women served tea and coffee in celebration of the Army’s deployment in their area.


“I didn’t realize that I love the Lebanese Army until I discovered its value after having lived with my children [through] the hell of last night,” a local resident said. “We will not ask about the size of damage because property becomes worthless when it comes to peace and safety. We have no other choice than the state.”



Tears and sorrow as families lay Army soldiers to rest


KFAR TIBNIT, Lebanon: Sorrow and tears abounded Sunday as Lebanon bid farewell to soldiers killed in clashes in north Lebanon over the weekend between the Army and ISIS-inspired militants.


Hundreds of mourners, some firing weapons into the air, carried the flag-draped coffin of soldier Mohammad Ali Yaseen through an ordinarily quiet south Lebanon village Sunday after he was shot dead a day earlier by militants in the restive north.


Women wailed in grief as the family passed his body through their home in Kfar Tibnit for a last time.


“You must avenge his death and ... all the other martyrs,” Yaseen’s uncle, Ahmad, told uniformed soldiers who took part in the funeral.


Umm Hashem, Yaseen’s neighbor, addressed the women in the funeral march, telling them not to cry.


“Don’t cry. Ululate, because he fought takfiris and that is enough to call him a sergeant,” she said.


Yaseen was killed in a militant ambush in the village of Mhamra in Dinnieh Saturday.


Security sources told The Daily Star gunmen approached Yaseen and another soldier and shot at them, instantly killing one of them.


The second soldier later died of wounds he sustained in the attack, the sources said.


Lebanese troops battled Islamist militants behind attacks in Tripoli and the northern district of Minyeh for a third day Sunday with the death toll rising to 27.


Also Sunday, 1st Lt. Firas al-Hakim was laid to rest in his hometown of Aley, private Ahmad al-Asaad was buried in Safinet al-Qaytaa in Akkar, recruit Abbas Ibrahim was buried in Shmestar In Baalbek, and recruit Jaafar Asaad was buried in Arida in Akkar.



Support pours in for the Army from across the political divide


BEIRUT: Political figures voiced staunch support for the Lebanese Army Sunday, as the military fought to contain the worst outbreak of violence in north Lebanon in months.


Clashes in north Lebanon erupted after an Army unit was attacked in the Tripoli neighborhood of Khan al-Askar Friday night in retaliation for the arrest of an alleged ISIS member detained Thursday during a raid in Dinnieh.


The Lebanese Army launched a campaign targeting the hideouts of militants in Tripoli Sunday, after the fighting in the city’s old souks intensified overnight Saturday, with numerous civilians, soldiers and militants reported dead.


Sidon MP Bahia Hariri expressed her support for the Lebanese Army in a statement, mourning the destruction reaped in the northern capital.


“All of Lebanon is bleeding today with the unfortunate and painful events in our beloved Tripoli and other northern areas,” read the statement issued Sunday.


Hariri contacted several figures to ensure that fallout from Tripoli would not reach Sidon, including Samir Shehadeh, the head of the Internal Security Forces Information Branch in the south, and Ali Shahrour, the head of Army Intelligence in the south.


Hariri also contacted Maj. Gen. Sobhi Abu Arab, the Fatah Movement’s head of security, to maintain order in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh.


Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai also lauded the efforts of the military during a Sunday Mass at the Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, where he traveled for an official visit.


“It pains all of us [to witness] the assault on the Lebanese Army in Tripoli,” Rai said. “And here we are today all of us expressing our full support to the military institution and the security forces in Lebanon.”


Defense Minister Samir Moqbel met Army chief Gen. Jean Kahwagi, who briefed him on the latest developments at the headquarters of the Army Command in Yarze.


Moqbel praised the thoroughness of Lebanese Army units deployed in the north, the speed with which they launched their offensive and their dedication to protecting civilians.


“The latest incidents in Tripoli reveal that the Army and other security forces are qualified and capable of defending Lebanon when the need arises,” Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said in a statement issued by his media office Sunday.


“As long as Muslim leadership in Lebanon remains vigilant and brave, and as long as military and security institutions in Lebanon remain ready, then Lebanon has nothing to fear,” he said, praising the leadership role of former premier Saad Hariri.


Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel also voiced his backing of the Army and the residents of Tripoli in a statement.


“All the Lebanese care about Tripoli’s wounds,” Gemayel said. “It is time to put an end to violations of national sovereignty and the security of the city and attacks on the Army.”


Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Musawi expressed trust in the Army and its operations against extremists in Tripoli and Akkar, but said the military would soon need supplies.


“The Lebanese Army is now fighting a fierce war imposed on it by the takfiri groups,” Musawi said at a graduation ceremony in Tyre.


Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said Sunday the Army’s actions in north Lebanon weren’t against Sunnis. Rather, Rifi said he believes Hezbollah was trying to exploit the security situation to stir sectarian strife.


“Although we have a feeling that someone is hiding behind institutions to push for strife,” he said in a veiled reference to the resistance, “and we condemn this, we will not contribute to it by allowing for the state and its institutions to be undermined.”


“I heard some voices and sides describing the events in Tripoli now and other areas of the north as a war on the Sunni people,” Rifi said in his statement. “I reject such statements.”


Rifi said many Sunnis had been targeted because they stood with the state, mentioning late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and late Mufti Hasan Khaled.


Rifi also called on residents of north Lebanon to put their trust in the Future Movement.


Tripoli MPs and local officials called for an immediate cease-fire to the fighting in north Lebanon Sunday and held a meeting to reach that end which was attended by Rifi, a representative of former Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the Muslim Scholars Committee and other officials.


Akkar’s mufti, however, criticized Sunday the military’s offensive and called on it to reconsider its campaign and the use of force in its battle against Tripoli’s jihadists, while pleading with extremists to stop attacking the Army.


“Who is pushing the Army toward a military solution against militants, even though it threatens the lives of soldiers and civilians?” Sheikh Zeid Zakaria asked in a statement.


“We reject the targeting of the state and its security agencies and Army, but we also reject the targeting of civilians and mosques, and we find no justification for the use of the air force and airstrikes killing innocent people.” – The Daily Star



Decision to combat terror supersedes all else, Salam says


BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam reassured visitors to his home Sunday that he was in constant contact with the military leadership, which is doing everything to eliminate terrorist groups from Tripoli.


“The military and security measures taken by the armed forces, and our choice [to combat] terrorism, are irreversible,” he emphasized, while admitting that the battle ahead would not be easy.


Lebanese troops battled Islamist militants behind attacks in Tripoli and the northern district of Minyeh for a third day Sunday with the death toll rising to 27.


“It is true that there are complications and accumulation [of problems], and addressing these is not easy either, but the firm decision must supersede all else,” Salam said.


“We have no choice but to continue curbing terrorism and eliminate it by any means. They [militants] must not be allowed to control certain neighborhoods and limit the freedom of citizens. Therefore, it is vital to strengthen the role of [state] authority, grant people relief and put an end to terrorism. It is unacceptable for any power, for any goals or targets claimed by terrorist groups, to abuse the country or its citizens.”


He said “terrorists have their own methods of mobilizing, of hitting and running, and this is what is happening presently. It will not necessarily be resolved quickly and easily.”


Salam said “political measures are being carried out to coincide with security measures, and rumors that terrorists have found a welcoming environment in Lebanon are false, as evidenced by the clear position toward the state, the Army and legitimate [security] forces taken by the political leadership in response to events.”


As to whether the events in Tripoli could force him to reconsider his trip to Germany scheduled for Monday, Salam said “my trip to Germany is only for 24 hours, and it is in the interests of the country concerning a national issue that has begun to take on dangerous dimensions,” as well as the refugee issue, which is “very important and must be addressed as a national issue.”


“I will not be absent from developments in Tripoli and throughout Lebanon,” he vowed.


Salam said he has been following from the start what has been happening in the north and is in constant contact with the military and security leadership as well as relevant political figures.


He said the terrorist groups first tried to hide among civilians in the narrow streets of Tripoli, but that was thwarted. They then moved to Minyeh, where they tried to take refuge in the mosque just as they earlier sought refuge in a church in Tripoli, but that attempt was also thwarted “to prevent harm to citizens,” especially after it came to light that these terrorists were on the verge of carrying out a plan to boobytrap and destroy a university building that had recently been built in the area.


Salam said these militants had resorted to methods such as intimidation and violence in order to ignite strife in the country.


He added that the old souks in Tripoli had been cleared of terrorists and efforts were now underway to root out such groups from Bab al-Tabbaneh.


Salam also said that the government takes the Nusra Front’s threat to execute more hostages “very seriously,” adding that “this is one of the challenges that we face.”



Lebanon to lobby for support at Berlin summit


BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas will travel this week to Berlin, where they will lobby the international community to increase its support for Lebanon during a conference on the Syrian refugee crisis.


Tuesday’s conference in the German capital which will gather foreign ministers and international organizations will be co-hosted by German ministers and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.


Organizers hope governments will “commit to medium-term humanitarian solutions in support of the refugees and local [host] communities who are increasingly feeling the impact on structures and services,” according to the German Foreign Office.


The International Support Group for Lebanon will meet Tuesday morning to discuss the particular challenges the country faces as it struggles to cope with more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees within its borders.


At an International Support Group meeting in New York last month, Salam stressed that the Syrian refugee crisis was having a severe economic impact on Lebanon. He is expected to repeat a call for increased international financial support in Berlin.


Aside from fundraising efforts, the Lebanese delegates will seek political backing for the government’s new decision to stem the flow of Syrian refugees into Lebanon.


“We are asking for additional support for Lebanon. We’re not only talking about [financial] pledges, we’re talking about political support ... particularly [regarding] the refugee situation,” said Hala al-Helou, an adviser to Derbas.


Last week, the government decided Lebanon could accept no more refugees, and would only welcome displaced Syrians with urgent humanitarian needs.


Helou said that at the forthcoming conference Lebanese ministers would insist on the country’s sovereignty and, working closely with Jordanian counterparts, would ask that other countries take a more proactive role in sharing the burden of the refugee crisis. “They need to start looking into serious solutions for the situation aside from giving us advice,” Helou added.


Particularly, Lebanon and Jordan will demand that European countries accept more displaced Syrians, and that the international community seriously discuss the prospect of refugee repatriation, Helou told The Daily Star.


The Lebanese government has long maintained that there are safe areas within Syria where refugees could be responsibly resettled. “This is one of our priorities,” she stressed.


According to Helou, the international community is “negotiating” whether the safe return of Syrians is currently feasible.


Both Helou and Derbas denied reports of an international plot to pressure Lebanon into signing the Geneva Convention.


Helou said, however, that some language in the final declaration of the conference was “not acceptable” to the Lebanese authorities. Lebanon is not a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention, which affords certain legal rights to those fleeing conflict.


Initially, a draft of the conference’s closing statement included references to the Geneva Convention, Helou said. Both Lebanon and Jordan objected to the wording, and to the fact that the declaration was referred to as a legally binding compact. The statement has since been revised.


“There was no actual coercion,” Helou said. “But at the same time we did not approve of it.”


Still, Derbas insisted that Lebanon adheres to international human rights principles. “We are a member of the U.N. and we abide by human rights declarations,” Derbas told The Daily Star. “But we must always look out for the rights of Lebanese.”



South Lebanon bids farewell to fallen soldier


BEIRUT: Hundreds of mourners, some firing weapons into the air, carried the flag-draped coffin of soldier Mohammad Ali Yaseen through an ordinarily quiet south Lebanon village Sunday after he was shot dead by militants the country's restive north the day before.


Women dressed in black wailed in grief as the family passed his body through their home in Kfar Tibnit for a last time.


“You must avenge his death and avenge all the other martyrs,” Yaseen’s uncle, Ahmad, told uniformed soldiers who took part in the funeral.


Umm Hashem, Yaseen’s neighbor, addressed the women in the funeral march telling them not to cry.


“Don’t cry. Ululate, because he fought takfiris and that is enough to call him a sergeant,” she said.


Yaseen was killed in a militant ambush in the village of Mhamra in Dinnieh Saturday.


Security sources told The Daily Star that gunmen approached Yaseen and another soldier and shot at them, instantly killing one of them in the Mhamra.


The second soldier later died of wounds he sustained in the attack, the sources said, adding that the gunmen then fled into the tiny streets of Mhamra.


Two soldiers and a number of others were wounded in the clash. The Army pursued the militants and killed several gunmen.


The two incidents happened as the Lebanese Army battled ISIS-inspired militants in the northern city of Tripoli. The fighting erupted Friday evening after gunmen fired at soldiers near the city’s old souks.


The attack was reportedly in respons to the arrest of an alleged ISIS commander the military detained Thursday during a raid in Dinnieh.



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Opposition Researchers, Stirring Up Daily Brushfires



Audio for this story from Weekend Edition Sunday will be available at approximately 12:00 p.m. ET.





The midterms are just around the corner. NPR's Rachel Martin continues the series looking behind the scenes at the people who work tirelessly on campaigns. This week: the opposition researchers.



Tripoli officials call for immediate ceasefire to Lebanon fighting


TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Tripoli MPs and local officials called for an immediate ceasefire to the fighting in north Lebanon Sunday after more than 18 people died over three days of clashes in the worst clashes to hit the area in months.


“We call for an immediate ceasefire in order to allow the evacuation of the wounded and the entry of humanitarian aid,” MP Mohammad Kabbara said on behalf of the handful of political and religious figures who met at his residence in Tripoli Sunday to discuss the crisis.


“We assure that Tripoli has been and remains affiliated with the state’s institutions and against terrorism.”


The session was attended by Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, a representative of former Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Muslim Scholars Committee representatives, as well as other local officials.


Kabbara said the officials had been in contact with Prime Minister Tammam Salam, former PMs Saad Hariri and Fouad Siniora, and Army chief Gen. Jean Kahwagi.


“They all confirmed the necessity to protect civilians,” Kabbara said.


Speaking out against the attacks on Army bases in north Lebanon, Kabbara said the meeting’s attendees “condemned terrorism, no matter who is behind it.”


“We support the implementation of the security plan, but in the peaceful manner in which it used to be applied,” Kabbara said, referring to the April offensive by police and the Army in Tripoli and the Bekaa Valley aimed at capturing jihadists.


Kabbara denounced the “excessive use of force” by the Army in the current offensive.


At least 18 people were killed in running battles between Lebanese troops and ISIS-inspired militants in Tripoli and the Minyeh areas of north Lebanon. The clashes started Friday night with an attack on a Lebanese Army unit, and escalated to a massive military campaign to rid the northern city of jihadists.



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Lebanese Army offensive in the north not a war against Sunnis: Rifi


BEIRUT: The Army offensive against militants in north Lebnon is not a war against Sunnis, but Hezbollah is trying to exploit the security situation to stir sectarian strike, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said Sunday.


“Although we have a feeling that someone is hiding behind institutions to push for strife, and we condemn this, we will not contribute to it by achieving the goal of undermining the state and its institutions,” Rifi said in references to the Army Command and Hezbollah.


Rifi has accused the Army of being strongly influenced by Hezbollah.


Pledging to fight all conspiracies against the people of Tripoli and north Lebanon, Rifi said Sunnis have always been and will remain supportive of the state and its institution.


“I heard some voices and sides describing the events in Tripoli now and other areas of the north as a war on the Sunni people,” Rifi said in the Sunday statement. “I refuse such statements in form and content.”


Rifi said many Sunnis had been targeted because they stood with the state, mentioning late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and late Mufti Hasan Khaled.


“We will not respond to the mini-state, which is contributing to a civil war in Lebanon and the region, with a similar mini-state,” the former Internal Security Forces chief said, accusing Hezbollah of continuously trying to involve the Army in internal battles.


Rifi also called on residents of north Lebanon to avoid recklessness and to put their trust in the Future Movement.


The statement came amid fierce clashes between Army and jihadists in north Lebanon.


The death toll from three days of fighting between Lebanese troops and ISIS-inspired militants rose to 18 as the military cracked down on jihadists plotting attacks in the country in Tripoli and the northern district of Minyeh.



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Geagea lauds Army efforts in north Lebanon


BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea lauded Sunday both Lebanese security forces and Tripoli's local officials for confronting extremist threats in the restive north Lebanon city.


“The latest incidents in Tripoli reveal that the Army and other security forces are qualified and capable of defending Lebanon when the need arises,” Geagea said in a statement released by his media office.


The clashes have also revealed that Tripoli residents don’t provide a hospitable environment for terrorism and extremism, he added, stressing that the role of the city’s political, social and religious leadership have proven this rejection of terrorism.


Geagea praised former Prime Minister Saad Hariri for his “brave" stand in support of the military offensive.


“As long as Muslim leadership in Lebanon remains on this level of awareness and bravery and as long as the military and security institutions in Lebanon remain on this level of readiness, then there is no fear for Lebanon,” he said.


Hariri Saturday voiced his support for the Lebanese Army’s measures in the northern city of Tripoli, holding contacts with officials to contain the situation.


“Hariri stressed his full support to the government, the Army and security forces in their mission to restore security and stability in the capital of the north,” Hariri’s media office said in a statement.


The Lebanese Army targeted the hideouts of militants in the northern city of Tripoli Sunday morning as the third day of fighting between the military and jihadists in the city’s old souks intensified sharply overnight.


Three rigged cars were seized by the Lebanese Army during early morning raids Sunday in north Lebanon as the military regained control over the northern district of Minyeh, pounding the surroundings of the Haroun Mosque in Bhanine in Minyeh, where gunmen affiliated with Sheikh Khaled Hablas are based.


The sheikh is accused of being behind attacks against the Army Saturday morning in the Minyeh-Dinnieh area.



Akkar Mufti urges Army to end Tripoli airstrikes


BEIRUT: The Mufti of Akkar called Sunday on the Army to reconsider its military campaign and the use of airstrikes in its battle against Tripoli's jihadists, while pleading with extremists to stop attacking the Army.


“Who is pushing the Army toward a military solution against militants, even though it threatens the lives of soldiers and civilians?,” asked Sheikh Zeid Zakaria in a statement. “We refuse the targeting of the state and its security agencies and Army, but we also refuse the targeting of civilians and mosques, and we find no justification for the use of the air force and airstrikes killing innocent people.”


In light of the heavy clashes in the northern city of Tripoli between Army troops and jihadists, Zakaria called for ending the fighting and finding an alternative solution.


“We condemn the calls for defection from the Army but we call on the state and the wise to treat the roots of the problem and eliminate its causes, rather than being occupied with what’s apparent,” he said.


At least 16 people were killed in running battles between Lebanese troops and ISIS-inspired militants in Tripoli, north Lebanon. The clashes started Friday night with an attack on a Lebanese Army unit, and escalated to a full military campaign to rid the northern city of jihadists plotting attacks in the country.


Two civilians, six soldiers and at least eight militants were killed and 20 people were wounded, including 10 soldiers, during the clashes in Tripoli and other areas of north Lebanon.


Zakaria also said that residents of the north were suffering from deprivation and discrimination.


“Why is there an insistence on continuing the random arrests and a rejection of implementing justice, which all increase the frustration and tension among the youth?,” Zakaria added.


Separately, the founder of the salafist movement in Tripoli, Sheikh Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal, threatened to attack the military in a recorded message addressed to Army leader Gen. Jean Kahwagi posted on social media Saturday.


The sheikh said the Army is a tool being used by Hezbollah against the Sunnis of Lebanon, and called on Sunni soldiers to defect.


“Don’t you kill a Sunni believer,” he told them, warning they would face punishment in the afterlife if they fight against jihadists.



North Lebanon MP Khaled Daher denies terror links


BEIRUT: Controversial Tripoli MP Khaled Daher denied Sunday having any links to terrorists after media reports alleged that a terror suspect accused of recruiting Army soldiers to fight with ISIS was coordinating his acts with the north Lebanon lawmaker.


“What has been said about my relationship with Ahmad Salim Mikati is a blatant lie,” Daher told the Kuwaiti Al-Siyasa newspaper published Sunday.


The remarks came after As-Safir newspaper Friday reported that Mikati revealed during interrogations that he was using WhatsApp mobile phone application to coordinate militant actions with a north Lebanon MP.


In his first public statement after accusations were levied against him, Daher blamed Hezbollah's top security official Wafiq Safa for fabricating the case. “If there had been calls as they allege, then there should be telecommunication data. Where is this data then?,” the Tripoli MP asked.


Daher did not deny knowing the terror suspect, but said that it has been “12-13 years since I’ve seen Ahmad Mikati, and I haven’t met with him [since] and there is no communication between us whatsoever.”


Daher dismissed the accusations as “fabricated lies” crafted by Hezbollah in an effort to shift attention away from their assaults in the Syrian province of Qalamoun and their obstruction of negotiations over the release of 27 service men held hostage by ISIS and the Nusra Front.


The divisive lawmaker known for being a vocal critic of Hezbollah, also said that he was targeted by the resistance for publicly announcing their plans and revealing facts that were not in their favor.


In further insistence on his innocence, Daher called on the Ministry of Telecommunications to review all his communications.


The lawmaker also insisted on his support of the Army and his commitment to the “every word that is said by [former Prime Minister] Saad Hariri,” while confirming his dedication to the Future Movement.


The Army carried out a dramatic predawn raid Thursday on an apartment in Asoun, during which it clashed with terror suspects, killing three and capturing a “key terrorist” Mikati, who was involved in recruiting Lebanese servicemen to fight with jihadi Islamists entrenched in the outskirts of the border town of Arsal.