The motives of the Sunni Muslim youth fighting in the Bab al-Tabbana neighborhood of Tripoli, Lebanon continues to animate discussion on Ekhlaas.
One poster, Hafidat Usama (Granddaughter of Usama), claims to live in Bab al-Tabbana and to have witnessed the fighting. Hafidat asserts that the youth only armed themselves after seeing that the Lebanese army was not able to enter the neighborhood. Although the youth could not match the heavy weaponry of their `Alawi opponents, they manged to fight them to a standstill.
Hafidat is annoyed with Umm al-Faruq, another female Ekhlaas member, who accused the Tabbana youth a few days ago of fighting for Saad al-Hariri’s Future Movement and of not being properly pious in their appearance or behavior. Hafidat shoots back that the youth were only fighting to protect their religious community and not for political reasons.
Another member, Abu Hajir al-Kinani, counsels caution, explaining that Jihadis living outside of Tripoli are worried that the youth there are risking prison or death for the sake of political causes that are not their own.
Document (Arabic): 7-17-08-ekhlaas-argument-about-motives-of-fighters-in-bab-al-tabbana
