Interior and Municipalities Minister Bassam Molawi of the caretaker government announced that "citizens will notice an increased security presence in the north." After presiding over a security meeting in Tripoli, he stated: "Our concern is to achieve the highest level of security and safety." He indicated that "the security forces are making every effort to arrest those undermining security," adding: "We will not be lenient, but citizens must realize that violations are harmful to them." He saw that "security work is not merely a military operation, but is also a social and economic one."