"It appears that Tripoli’s armed commanders, who control the strategic
neighborhoods in the Sunni Bab al-Tabanneh district, have had enough. For years
now they have been mobilized, armed, and funded to snipe at the adjacent Alawi
neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen by either politicians belonging to the Future Party
or local Salafi sheikhs. To the surprise of many, the commanders met recently
under the name of the “Popular Committees in Tripoli” and issued a declaration
of principles primarily directed against their traditional patrons, the Future
Party and Salafi sheikhs.
“We reject the fact that our people in
Tripoli are paying for political instability tied to foreign projects,” it read,
adding that the Sunni political establishment represents only itself and not the
sect. “We’ve had enough,” said one of the commanders who goes by the name of
Ziad al-Awlaki, “we are no longer willing to be exploited by the politicians,”
explaining that the declaration was the outcome of a month and a half of
meetings and discussions. “We will no longer accept after today to be provoked
to fight our Shia and Alawi brothers,” he added, expressing a sense frustration
with the he added, expressing a sense frustration with the interminable
fighting." (thanks Basim)
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