TRIPOLI, Lebanon — Under a six-month security plan to bring calm to Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, the Lebanese army has been given full authority to deploy and arrest fighters responsible for the deadly violence between militias in the opposing neighborhoods of Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds have been injured in 18 episodes of violence-related to the Syrian conflict between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime. The Tebbaneh-Mohsen area, the site of nearly all the clashes in the city, is one of the most deprived in the country, with 76% of residents living below the poverty line. 

The two neighborhoods are separated by Syria Street, and all the buildings along this divide wear the scars of violence. The walls are pocked from thousands of impacts from bullets, shrapnel and various other projectiles, and large iron gates protect store windows. Mohsen sits on a hill, which lends dominance to its fighters and snipers aiming at Tebbaneh.

Outside a mobile phone shop on Syria Street in Tebbaneh, Mohammad chats with a couple of his friends. He is a teenager who has no “expectations of finding an occupation.” He earns a bit of money helping his friend in the shop and has taken part in the clashes. While explaining his situation and complaining about the lack of opportunities available, his friends see two people moving debris from an abandoned building on the other side of the street, in Mohsen. In less than five minutes, some 20 suspicious residents have gathered to confirm what exactly they are doing.

While the residents of Tripoli are now accustomed to regular outbursts of violence, some criticize their peers for their apparent predisposition to resort to weapons. “In Tebbaneh, people sleep, fight and go back to sleep,” complains Ahmad, a man in his 20s, angrily, while pointing in the air after hearing a couple of shots being fired. He would later qualify this assertion. “If you are a taxi driver, maybe you will [take home] $10 a day after paying for costs. With this amount of money, it's difficult to feed your family,” says Ahmad, visiting his hometown from Dubai, where he works as a makeup artist.