Lebanon PM links Syria to car bomb
Source: Agencies |
October 21, 2012, Sunday
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LEBANON'S prime minister yesterday linked the massive car bomb that tore through Beirut to the civil war in neighboring Syria, the latest signal that the crisis is enflaming an already tense region.
The blast Friday in the heart of Beirut's Christian area killed eight people, including the country's intelligence chief, Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan.
The government declared a national day of mourning for the victims yesterday, but protesters took to the streets, burning tires and setting up roadblocks around the country in a sign of the boiling anger over the bomb.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said yesterday the explosion is linked to al-Hassan's recent investigation, in which he exposed an alleged plot by Syria to unleash a campaign of bombings and assassinations to sow chaos in Lebanon.
"I don't want to prejudge the investigation, but in fact we cannot separate yesterday's crime from the revelation of the explosions that could have happened," Mikati said at a news conference after an emergency Cabinet meeting.
Entwined politics
Lebanon's fractious politics are closely entwined with Syria's. The countries share a web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries, and Lebanon has been caught up in the fallout of from the civil war pitting Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces against rebels seeking to overthrow the regime.
Lebanon's opposition is anti-Syrian, while the prime minister and much of the government are seen as pro-Syrian.
Al-Hassan's probe over the summer led to the arrest of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, one of Assad's most loyal allies in Lebanon.
Samaha, who is in custody, is accused of plotting attacks to spread sectarian violence in Lebanon at Syria's behest.
Also indicted in the August sweep was Syrian Brigadier General Ali Mamlouk, one of Assad's highest aides. He was charged in absentia.
Mikati also said he had offered to resign after Friday's car bomb, but the president asked him not to plunge the country into more uncertainty.
In the eastern town of Marj angry protesters tried to storm an office of the pro-Syrian Itihad group, but Lebanese soldiers pushed them away wounding five protesters, security officials said.
They added that dozens of people who marched in protest in the border town of Moqueibleh came under fire from the Syrian side of the border forcing them to disperse without any injury.
Police and army troops sealed off the site of Friday's blast as military intelligence agents investigated what was the deadliest bombing in Beirut in four years.
The blast Friday in the heart of Beirut's Christian area killed eight people, including the country's intelligence chief, Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan.
The government declared a national day of mourning for the victims yesterday, but protesters took to the streets, burning tires and setting up roadblocks around the country in a sign of the boiling anger over the bomb.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said yesterday the explosion is linked to al-Hassan's recent investigation, in which he exposed an alleged plot by Syria to unleash a campaign of bombings and assassinations to sow chaos in Lebanon.
"I don't want to prejudge the investigation, but in fact we cannot separate yesterday's crime from the revelation of the explosions that could have happened," Mikati said at a news conference after an emergency Cabinet meeting.
Entwined politics
Lebanon's fractious politics are closely entwined with Syria's. The countries share a web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries, and Lebanon has been caught up in the fallout of from the civil war pitting Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces against rebels seeking to overthrow the regime.
Lebanon's opposition is anti-Syrian, while the prime minister and much of the government are seen as pro-Syrian.
Al-Hassan's probe over the summer led to the arrest of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, one of Assad's most loyal allies in Lebanon.
Samaha, who is in custody, is accused of plotting attacks to spread sectarian violence in Lebanon at Syria's behest.
Also indicted in the August sweep was Syrian Brigadier General Ali Mamlouk, one of Assad's highest aides. He was charged in absentia.
Mikati also said he had offered to resign after Friday's car bomb, but the president asked him not to plunge the country into more uncertainty.
In the eastern town of Marj angry protesters tried to storm an office of the pro-Syrian Itihad group, but Lebanese soldiers pushed them away wounding five protesters, security officials said.
They added that dozens of people who marched in protest in the border town of Moqueibleh came under fire from the Syrian side of the border forcing them to disperse without any injury.
Police and army troops sealed off the site of Friday's blast as military intelligence agents investigated what was the deadliest bombing in Beirut in four years.
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