Miqati Denies Tripoli Turned into Military Zone

Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati denied that the northern city of Tripoli had become a military zone, saying the army will only take charge of security in it for six months to end the bloody clashes.

Announcing Tripoli a military zone “hasn't been under discussion from the beginning,” Miqati told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published on Tuesday.

He said a decision made by him and President Michel Suleiman after a high-level security meeting at the presidential palace on Monday to authorize the army to take charge of security in Tripoli comes in conformity with caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel's security plan.

“It aims at limiting the authority of the armed forces to the military to prevent double measures in implementing security plans,” Miqati said.

Monday’s decision is meant to allay fears that the fighting between the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen was spreading out of control.

Asked why the decision wasn't taken during previous bouts of violence, Miqati said: “We were waiting for the implementation of the security plan and when we realized that more than one decision was being issued by several security agencies, we decided to unite the decision-making under the army's authority.”

The caretaker premier hoped that everyone will commit to the orders issued by the army, saying “the military leadership has the full political cover.”

About criticism that his decisions were harming the Sunni sect, Miqati said: “This is not true because we can't consider tasking the military the preservation of security (a measure) against Sunnis.”

Bab al-Tabbaneh is largely Sunni and backs the revolution against Syrian President Bashar Assad. Jabal Mohsen's residents are from Assad's Alawite sect.

The two impoverished neighborhoods have engaged in gunbattles for years.

The fighting intensified after the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011 but the violence in recent days has taken a more ominous turn, spreading to include other parts of Tripoli as snipers took up positions on rooftops, and gunbattles and rocket fire raged out of control.