[An Nahar] Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Sunday telephoned Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji and Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, urging military and security forces to “shoulder their responsibilities in order to stop the security deterioration and impose state authority” in the violence-hit city of Tripoli.Hariri called for “putting an end, once and for all, to the cycle of violence that some parties want to drag the capital of the North into,” according to a statement issued by the ex-PM's press office.
The opposition leader urged “extraordinary and strict measures against anyone violating the city's security or plotting against its safety and coexistence.”
Hariri called on the city's residents to “close ranks and show solidarity in order to foil the suspicious plots that are well-known by everyone, especially state authorities who we do not believe are unaware of what's happening in Tripoli and of the operations of arming parties tasked with organizing violence rounds every now and then.”
The ex-PM urged Tripoli's residents and dignitaries, “especially those who live in neighborhoods affected by the clashes, to exercise self-restraint and patience in the face of what is being plotted against their city,” asking them to “cooperate with the relevant authorities, given that the state is the sanctuary that preserves the security of Tripoli and the safety of its people.”
Later on Sunday, Prime Minister Najib Miqati said in a Twitter message that state authorities “took clear measures that will materialize in the coming hours in Tripoli.”