People carrying the coffin of one of the victims from the Tripoli shooting. Sept. 10, 2022 in the Bebnine village of Akkar. (Photo sent by our correspondent Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — One of the suspects in the deadly shooting in Tripoli in northern Lebanon on Friday night is an ex-convict with a "criminal and terrorist" background, the Lebanese Army announced Saturday. Another suspect was arrested the same day by military intelligence, and a meeting of the Central Security Council has been scheduled for Tuesday.
The incident, which was followed by shooting in various parts of the city, required the intervention of the armed forces to ease tensions.
On Friday evening, unidentified assailants opened fire on a cell phone store and threw a grenade that did not explode, in the al-Tal district of Tripoli.
"A convict with a criminal and terrorist background, accompanied by three individuals who arrived on a motorcycle and whose identity remains unknown, opened fire using weapons of war against a cell phone store," said the army in a statement issued Saturday. "They then entered the shop and opened fire before fleeing," the statement added. The clashes left four people dead: the convict, the owner of the store, and two brothers who worked in the shop.
The military went to the scene of the incident and detonated a grenade found inside the store. They also defused two others that were in the possession of the deceased criminal. The army said its intelligence services arrested another a suspect, and have opened an investigation.
At first glance the incident appeared to be motivated by a burglary of the business in question, but it turns out it may have a personal dimension. According to the daily an-Nahar, a man with a gun provoked the owner of the store, whose employees intervened to defend him. According to our correspondent Michel Hallak, the funerals of the two employees killed, brothers identified by the initials O.H. and M.H., took place on Saturday morning in their native village, amid a sober atmosphere.
Meeting of the Central Security Council
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, a source at the Interior Ministry said that a meeting of the Central Security Council will be chaired Tuesday by the caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi.
This incident has raised fears of a resumption of tensions between the Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen, from which the shop owner hails, and the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh, which had a similar history. Indeed, following the shooting, gunfire rang out on Friday evening in various parts of Tripoli and a grenade was thrown in the town of Riva. These incidents were followed by several clashes that resulted in injuries in Qibbeh and Nejmeh Square, the same source reported. The army and the Internal Security Forces were deployed, before the situation returned to normal.
On Friday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, himself from Tripoli, called on Mawlawi and the commander-in-chief of the army, Gen. Joseph Aoun, to restore order. He stressed "the need to control the situation, strengthen security measures and prevent any attack on the security of Tripoli and its inhabitants.
The interior minister immediately urged the head of General Security, Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, to intervene quickly to preserve civil security in Tripoli, according to our correspondent Hoda Chedid. Police patrols crisscrossed the city and roadblocks were set up in areas where tension was palpable.
Security incidents have multiplied recently in Lebanon, especially in Tripoli, the poorest city in the country and where weapons are pervasive among the population.
Additional reporting by Michel Hallak and Souhayb Jawhar
