Five individuals suspected of involvement in the overnight torching of Tripoli’s municipal building have been arrested, according to the Lebanese Army.
The Lebanese army said in a statement that three suspects, identified as two Lebanese and one Syrian, were present inside the building when they were detained.
Meanwhile, an army force arrested two suspects in the Bab al-Tabbaneh area for stopping firefighters from reaching the building while it was on fire.
On Thursday night, the Tripoli municipality building in north Lebanon went up to flames during the fourth night of protests against dire living conditions exacerbated by an extended lockdown.
Situation in #Tripoli #Lebanon deteriorating quickly. Protests that began 2 days ago against lockdown measures and 24 hour curfews to curb the spread of #coronavirus have disintegrated into gun fights. #LebanonProtests pic.twitter.com/d42VmWXJLv
— Maha Yahya (@mahamyahya) January 27, 2021
Read Yamak, Head of the Tripoli municipality, said in a statement that he stands by the protesters but that they shouldn’t engage in actions that implicate harm on others and establishments.
“What happened at the municipality and public establishments was to distort the image of the revolution,” he said.
