Normalcy returns to north Lebanon

Media in Lebanon report shop owners opened stores and traffic was bustling through Tripoli despite threats of a Syrian civil war spillover. At least 17 people were killed in fighting last week between anti- and pro-Syrian forces in parts of Tripoli. The Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon reports that while some areas are deserted, most of the city had returned to some sense of normalcy Monday. The military, however, was deployed in some neighborhoods to control the situation. At least 18 militants were arrested last weekend in the area. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on military forces to be strict with those threatening to destabilize the country, the report adds. The country's Cedar Revolution in 2005 forced Syrian forces to pull out of Lebanon following years of dominance during the country's civil war. Officials in Beirut said diplomat relations, restored in recent years, weren't downgraded because of the Syrian conflict. European leaders met during the weekend with Mikati and other top government officials in Beirut. International leaders have expressed concern that the conflict in Syria could spill over the border to engulf Lebanon.