| Local Editor | ||||
Five people were wounded on Sunday morning when two rockets fell on Beirut's southern suburb on Sunday morning from Mount Lebanon. One of the rockets was fired at a car showroom near the Mar Mikhael church, Shiyah, and the other landed on a balcony in the Maroun Misk neighborhood without exploding. Media and security sources said that among the injured people were three Syrians, one of them was severely wounded. Security forces are searching for a third rocket in the area that was fired, but did not explode. Security sources told Al-Manar TV that the third rocket which was fired from Aitat, in the Mount Lebanon area, and fell in a valley, south east of Beirut. The army has since cordoned off the area and began investigations to determine the type of rockets fired and who was behind it. President Michel Sleiman said the attack’s perpetrators were "terrorists and vandals who do not want peace and stability for Lebanon and the Lebanese."  Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel soon arrived at the scene, saying that the attack was aimed at creating tensions in Lebanon. “Lebanon cannot support more tensions and I hope all sides would realize this,” he said, revealing that the rockets were fired from the east of the area.Charbel discussed details of the attack with Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati who condemned the rocket attacks, saying in a statement: “The attacks are aimed at creating security tensions and certain retaliations, given the timing of the incident.” “We call on all sides to act wisely to prevent those seeking strife to achieve their goals,” he stressed. Speaking from the scene of the attacks, Caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said they are aimed at creating strife and the response should be by emphasizing the role of state institutions. “The attacks are aimed at targeting the people's stability and the location where they were fired is irrelevant.” Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told journalists in Abu Dhabi that France "very strongly condemns" the incident and stressed it was crucial to "avoid the war in Syria becoming a war in Lebanon." | ||||
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"Lebanon is the arena to avenge defeat in Syria!"
"... The source says that “the decision to open up a takfiri-style battle in Lebanon is tightly bound up with the military situation on the ground in Syria. ‘Zero hour’ for the fundamentalist groups will be determined when the result [of the fighting in Syria] becomes clear: if it is in their interest, they will move to Lebanon. If not, then they will look on the Lebanese arena as a center to take revenge for [their] defeat. This is the main security challenge.”.."
A Coup by Tabbaneh Field Commanders: “We Have the Final Say”
A Lebanese army's armoured personal carriers (APC) mounted with anti-aircraft heavy machine gun patrols on 24 May 2013 in a street of Jabal Mohsen in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. (Photo: AFP -Ghassan Sweidan)
The field commanders of Bab al-Tabbaneh’s gunmen have carried out a ‘coup’ against political leaders in the northern city of Tripoli, particularly MP Mohammed Kabbara. For all intents and purposes, the gunmen, who were being exploited politically and even financially, are now the ones controlling the streets.
Political leaders in Tripoli have long taken advantage of the internecine street conflicts in the city, using the violence and political allegiances of the militants to advance their standings, both locally and regionally. So the field commander rebellion against politicians comes as a striking development in this latest spate of violence.
The ‘coup’ against MP Kabbara and his political camp began on the night of Wednesday, May 22. As clashes spread, there was a lack of political stances to set the tone for the violence.
That night, MP Kabbara and retired Lebanese army colonel Amid Hammoud went to the Harba Mosque. Kabbara had called for the meeting only a few hours earlier. He intended to do the same thing he had always done in previous rounds of violence in the city, namely, convene field commanders and receive their mandate to represent them in political negotiations.
This time, however, Kabbara and Hammoud were surprised to find that the field commanders of Tabbaneh had declared a ‘rebellion’ against them, as though proclaiming that they alone had the final say, both politically and on the field.
The clerics of Bab al-Tabbaneh did not miss the meeting. In addition to more than 130 militants representing the gunmen of the neighborhoods, the attendees included Sheikh Khaled al-Sayyed, Sheikh Omar Aziz, and Sheikh Mazen al-Mohammed.
The field commanders boycotted the meeting, partly based on Kabbara’s earlier statement calling for the Lebanese army to “strike with an iron fist.” To the gunmen, this meant that Kabbara was on the army’s side, not Bab al-Tabbaneh’s.
The absence of the field commanders thwarted the main purpose of the meeting, which was to produce a unified set of demands. Their nonattendance meant that those at the meeting had no bearing on what was happening in the field.
As a result, the discussions shifted and focused on complaints about the discord in Tripoli’s political scene and among the armed groups. Accusations were made against Kabbara, and to a lesser extent Hammoud, over responsibility for the divisions and the chaos.
During the meeting, Sheikh Bilal Baroud elaborated on the causes of the existing anarchy and called on everyone to refrain from dealing harshly with the Lebanese army. His calls found support from Sheikh Mazen al-Mohammed, who said, “There is now blood in every street in Tripoli.”
Mohammed then lashed out at the MPs of Tripoli and said, “Rather than unify our vision and efforts, you are playing a role in drawing us apart.” He then asked, “Where are the weapons? In Jabal Mohsen, they have weapons like nothing we have in Bab al-Tabbaneh.”
At this point, Hammoud sensed that the insinuation was aimed at him and responded, “I have distributed the arms, but I cannot cover all of Tabbaneh’s weapon needs.”
Political leaders in Tripoli have long taken advantage of the internecine street conflicts in the city, using the violence and political allegiances of the militants to advance their standings, both locally and regionally. So the field commander rebellion against politicians comes as a striking development in this latest spate of violence.
The ‘coup’ against MP Kabbara and his political camp began on the night of Wednesday, May 22. As clashes spread, there was a lack of political stances to set the tone for the violence.
That night, MP Kabbara and retired Lebanese army colonel Amid Hammoud went to the Harba Mosque. Kabbara had called for the meeting only a few hours earlier. He intended to do the same thing he had always done in previous rounds of violence in the city, namely, convene field commanders and receive their mandate to represent them in political negotiations.
This time, however, Kabbara and Hammoud were surprised to find that the field commanders of Tabbaneh had declared a ‘rebellion’ against them, as though proclaiming that they alone had the final say, both politically and on the field.
The clerics of Bab al-Tabbaneh did not miss the meeting. In addition to more than 130 militants representing the gunmen of the neighborhoods, the attendees included Sheikh Khaled al-Sayyed, Sheikh Omar Aziz, and Sheikh Mazen al-Mohammed.
The field commanders boycotted the meeting, partly based on Kabbara’s earlier statement calling for the Lebanese army to “strike with an iron fist.” To the gunmen, this meant that Kabbara was on the army’s side, not Bab al-Tabbaneh’s.
The absence of the field commanders thwarted the main purpose of the meeting, which was to produce a unified set of demands. Their nonattendance meant that those at the meeting had no bearing on what was happening in the field.
As a result, the discussions shifted and focused on complaints about the discord in Tripoli’s political scene and among the armed groups. Accusations were made against Kabbara, and to a lesser extent Hammoud, over responsibility for the divisions and the chaos.
During the meeting, Sheikh Bilal Baroud elaborated on the causes of the existing anarchy and called on everyone to refrain from dealing harshly with the Lebanese army. His calls found support from Sheikh Mazen al-Mohammed, who said, “There is now blood in every street in Tripoli.”
Mohammed then lashed out at the MPs of Tripoli and said, “Rather than unify our vision and efforts, you are playing a role in drawing us apart.” He then asked, “Where are the weapons? In Jabal Mohsen, they have weapons like nothing we have in Bab al-Tabbaneh.”
At this point, Hammoud sensed that the insinuation was aimed at him and responded, “I have distributed the arms, but I cannot cover all of Tabbaneh’s weapon needs.”
Uprooted Palestinian
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