[An Nahar] Hizbullah condemned on Friday the assault against a number of residents from the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood in the northern city of Tripoli...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, saying that criminal gangs bent on creating sectarian strife were behind the attack.
It said in a statement: "The criminal gangs, which are being offered political cover by the March 14 camp, are continuing on driving their knife into Tripoli's bleeding wound."
"The gangs shot up four municipal workers simply because they belong to a sect, which has incurred the wrath of those who claim civility and a love for life," it added in reference to the Alawite sect, whose members form the majority of the residents of Jabal Mohsen.
"The actions of the criminal gangs do not reflect the national spirit of the residents of Tripoli," it noted.
"The actions instead represent the great desperation that the March 14 camp has reached due to its failure in banking on changes on the ground. It is therefore taking out its frustration through such barbaric acts," it added.
Hizbullah voiced its complete solidarity with the victims of Thursday's assault, saying that the whole of Tripoli is a victim of these criminal acts.
It condemned the "mentality of creating incitement that also leans towards extremism and rejects the role of state institutions."
It therefore called on the state and all of its agencies to assume their responsibilities in ending these criminal acts that are a threat to civil and national peace.
At least three Jabal Mohsen residents were maimed in a shooting in Tripoli on Thursday, stoking sectarian divisions in the city.
The state-run National News Agency said assailants shot the three men in their feet in the area of al-Zahriyeh.