A spate of several days of tension, civil strife and bloodshed in Tripoli appears to be in the process of winding down, as the usual suspects appear. There are solemn statements made to the media by state officials and politicians about the need to maintain national unity.

Another inevitable development is the round, or rounds, of “reconciliation meetings,” convened among a rotating cast of the city’s prominent officials and politicians, and religious leaders.

Meanwhile, to respond to the violence, the military and security authorities spring into action – in some cases, the gunmen are pursued, and actually detained.

But the salient point is that government troops sometimes face opponents who are better-armed than they are. It is easy to accuse this or that side in Tripoli of being behind the latest explosion, usually connected to events in Lebanon’s neighbor to the north and east, Syria.

Each time, the political class talks about national unity, promises to get tough on the issue of maintaining civil peace, and laments the lack of respect for state authority. However, politicians and officials from across the spectrum are also responsible for the frightening accumulation of weapons in non-official hands.

In Tripoli’s latest round of destabilization, a weapons depot was discovered – the public will have to wait for long while before hearing the authorities speak with one voice on who was responsible for this arms cache, or for the general state of affairs in weapons-happy Tripoli – and Tripoli is by no means the only part of the country where such a phenomenon exists.

But the endemic violence that has plagued the neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen is well-known. The latest flare-up should have come as no surprise to government officials, since many warning signs preceded this weekend’s deadly clashes.

Each time, the public sees the same series of events: an explosion of violence, an eruption of chatter by officials and politicians, and a calming-down period.

Political and religious leaders talk about the need for reconciliation, while conveniently forgetting an equally important aspect of political life: accountability. No one is officially blamed for the violence, and few people go to jail for helping enable it.

The government must exercise authority throughout the entire country. It must provide a convincing explanation for the massive accumulation of non-light weaponry in the city of Tripoli, and any other town or village, as required. To put it simply: Who is responsible for the entry of Inerga rockets into the homes of residents of Lebanon’s second biggest city?

If the government can’t provide clear-cut answers to such questions, and exercise its authority, it can only await the next, inevitable flare-up in Tripoli, after the reconciliations are forgotten.