BEIRUT — Military Investigative Judge Riyad Abu Ghayda issued on Thursday, April 10, an arrest warrant in absentia for pro-Assad figure Rifaat Eid and 11 of his associates over their alleged involvement in clashes in the northern city of Tripoli.

Abu Ghayda’s warrants are based on articles in the Penal Code, which could lead to the death penalty, a judicial source told Lebanese English newspaper The Daily Star.

Eid, an Arab Democratic Party official, and his associates were charged last week with belonging to an armed terrorist group, participation in the Tripoli clashes, and killing and attempted killing of civilians.

Eid and his father, Ali Eid, head of the ADP, reportedly fled the country to avoid prosecution days before security forces began implementing a security plan to restore law and order in Tripoli, which has been plagued by the crisis in Syria.

The plan also stipulates that security forces arrest wanted individuals, including militia leaders in the city.

A military unit raided Eid’s residence in Jabal Mohsen part of the crackdown but did not find him.

The prosecutor charged an additional 15 people of Syrian and Lebanese nationalities from Jabal Mohsen in Eid’s case.

Judge Saqr Saqr also charged a group of 14 individuals with forming an armed group in Bab al-Tabbaneh to “sabotage the authority of the state and attack its civilian and military institutions.”

They were also accused of “shooting at security forces, inciting sectarian strife, damaging public and private properties, killing and attempted killing.”