The Army Should Be More Firm In Tripoli

The only way to prevent an all out outbreak of violence in Tripoli is for the army to adopt a zero tolerance approach.

Families fleeing the violence hiding in Tripoli public school

There is already talk in Tripoli that the army cannot to be trusted with protecting the citizens, and that if you want to protect your family, you have to put some weapons in your house. That is a very dangerous line of thinking that is becoming more and more entrenched in the North.

So far, the army’s way of dealing with Lebanon’s warring factions has been to avoid angering any one side at any cost. But there’s another way, and that is to provoke all sides equally by confiscating all weapons and raiding the sources of all sniper fire.

If you look at this video, you see the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation interviewing three men, blatantly unmasked while showcasing their automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenade, brazenly claiming to be defending themselves. If the LBC can reach those men, there is no excuse for the army not to round them up and punish them severely to serve an example. 

When bullets and rockets are doing the talking, the army’s job is to protect the unarmed children and the elderly, not to cover politicians’ behind.