The truce in Tripoli is already on thin ice. Despite the lull in the fighting in the northern city, the commanders of the armed groups in the city’s alleyways, known as the “alleyway commanders,” are nervous about the prospect of a deal that would pave the way for their elimination. Unlike previous rounds of fighting, these commanders are distraught because politicians in the city are washing their hands clean of them without making any attempt to mend the situation.
As soon as a round of fighting in Tripoli stops, another one begins. The city, whose security situation is connected to the events in Syria, is caught in a circle of violence taking the lives of dozens of innocent people in each round of fighting.
The most recent, however, was different from previous ones. One significant development was the killing of the perpetrators of assaults and murders targeting Alawi residents in the city.
The latest clashes began with the assassination of a resident of the Alawi-majority Jabal Mohsen, who was allegedly a sniper. During the ensuing fighting, Mustafa al-Nhaily, Omar Balah, and Youssef Murad were killed. The three men were among the prime suspects of the targeted killings of Alawis from Jabal Mohsen. The elimination of these three suspects has raised alarm bells among the alleyway commanders, who fear the city’s politicians and security leaders could be planning to liquidate them, as one militant in Tripoli told Al-Akhbar.
Another source shared his assessment of the new way militants are being dealt with. He said that usually, politicians or clerics in Tripoli would reach out to militants and their sponsors to urge them to end the clashes, two or three days at most after a new round of clashes starts. However, this time, he said, the militants were left to fight until they almost ran out of ammunition, before they initiated a ceasefire of their own accord.
A recording by a militant leader, known as Abu Taymour al-Dandashi, supports this assessment. In the recording, Dandashi blasts the city’s political leaders, and even threatens to liquidate them, with the exception of MP Mohammed Kabbara. But observers believe the recording could be part of the attempts to inflate the militants’ threat to “demand more when the time comes to make a deal,” or possibly to expedite said deal.
Interestingly enough, the Islamist factions have been absent from the latest round of violence. In this regard, well-placed sources told Al-Akhbar, “The Islamist factions have recently been trying to remain neutral in the clashes between Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, except for some individual Islamists. They are building their strength and biding their time to fight the battle alone if they want to.”
The sources say that Hussam Sabbagh, an influential Islamist leader, insists on avoiding the battle with Jabal Mohsen, “in the absence of any plans to settle the score once and for all.” The sources indicate that, in addition to Sabbagh, Sheikh Kamal al-Bustani and Sheikh Khaled al-Sayyed alone possess the decision for “war and peace” in Tabbaneh, stressing that it is unlikely that anyone can influence the Islamist street or militants like this trio.
According to the same sources, no decision has been made to “settle the battle” so far because armed groups lack the real cover to do so. For this reason, the sources argued, the militants restrict themselves to sporadic clashes and shelling. However, without a decision to put an end to the lawlessness, army soldiers continue to be killed in these clashes; they are probably the only real “scapegoats” in this situation.
The tension in Tripoli has been aggravated by the psychological climate resulting from the successive defeats of the armed Syrian opposition and its backers in the Syrian regions of Qalamoun and Tal Kalakh, and specifically the Krak des Chevaliers crusader castle.
Indeed, for over a year and a half, Krak des Chevaliers had a major role in shaping events in Tripoli, as dozens of militants holed up in the crusader castle had taken part in many rounds of fighting against the people of Jabal Mohsen, whom the militants see as an extension of the Syrian regime.
With the fall of the castle to the Syrian army, a major base for Tripoli-based jihadism has fallen. North Lebanon and the province’s capital lost dozens of Lebanese militants who were fighting for a project that the overwhelming majority of the city’s Salafis happen to identify with.
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Tripoli’s top commanders
Name: Ziad Mohammad Saleh, born in 1969
Alias: Ziad Alloukeh
Position: Commander of the Souk al-Qameh neighborhood
Saleh acquired Lebanese citizenship under the Naturalization Act in 1994. Saleh had a vegetables stall before he became a butcher, and then an alleyway commander.
Saleh is a resident of the Ghurabaa district, and commands one of the sizeable armed groups in the city. The group reportedly has large stockpiles of Energa-type rockets and small-to-medium arms.
He was arrested four times, only to be released shortly after. According to security reports, Saleh extorts levies from vegetable stalls along the banks of the Abu Ali River, and receives funding from Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi and chief of staff of former Prime Minister Najib Mikat, Hajj Rami al-Rifai.
Name: Saad Mohammed Mazhar al-Masri, born in 1985
Position: Alleyway commander
Saad Masri is known to be as the commander of one of the most formidable armed groups in the slum of Bab al-Tabbaneh. The group consists of around 50 fighters.
He reportedly receives a monthly allocation of $40,000 from former Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Masri rose to prominence when his brother Khodor was killed by the Lebanese army during clashes. Khodr was also known to be one of Mikati’s men in the area.
Saad owns a pickup truck and stores in the vegetables market in Bab al-Tabbaneh. Rumors also hold that he trades in arms between Lebanon and Syria.
Name: Omar Ahmed Ibrahim, born in 1966
Alias: Amer Arish
Position: Commander of the Baddawi Camp
Ibrahim is the “commander” of the Baddawi area, and is the third most prominent militant leader in and around Bab al-Tabbaneh. The man, who essentially works in repairing tires, commands thirty well-armed fighters.
Ibrahim receives funding from multiple backers, including Minister Ashraf Rifi and Mikati’s aide Hajj Rami al-Rifai. He is also reportedly close to Sheikh Salem al-Rafii and the Future Movement’s security adviser, retired Colonel Amid Hammoud (see below).
Name: Osama Mansour, born in 1987
Alias: Abu Omar Mansour
Position: Commander of the Starco neighborhood
Mansour commands an armed Islamist group in the Starco area, which is known as the “Islamist street.” His name came to light recently as the commander of a radical Salafi group that does not answer to the city’s politicians and security leaders.He was accused of standing behind several attacks, including the wave of armed assaults and murders of Alawi residents of Jabal Mohsen. Mansour fought for some time with the Partisans of Sharia in Greater Syria, led by Hussam Sabbagh, but split from the group nearly a year ago.
Name: Amid Hammoud, born in 1962
Position: Retired army colonel and security adviser to Saad Hariri,
Hardly a security incident in Tripoli passes without Hammoud’s name being mentioned. He resigned his commission in the army in protest on May 7, 2008.According to security reports, Hammoud commands armed groups in Bab al-Tabbaneh and beyond. He is also reportedly involved in instigating sporadic grenade attacks in Tripoli.
He is close to the head of the Information Branch General Imad Othman. Despite all allegations surrounding his name, including his alleged involvement in the assassination of Sheikh Abdul-Razzaq al-Asmar of the pro-Assad Tawhid Islamic Movement, Hammoud does not have a criminal record.
Name: Hussam Sabbagh, born in 1968
Alias: Hajj Abu Hassan
Position: Commander of an armed group
Sabbagh is a special case among the axis commanders in Tripoli, as he usually keeps his distance from most military confrontations in the city. He is quoted as saying, “I would enter the battle if a decision to settle it once and for all is taken, but I am against wars of attrition and futile battles.”His group is one of the largest armed groups in the city. He is reportedly the founder of the group called the Partisans of Sharia in Greater Syria.
His name was mentioned in leaked confessions of one detained terrorist suspect as a person of interest suspected of involvement in preparing car bombs. However, the reports have since been discredited, and the purpose of the leaks have yet to be understood.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.