Posted on 03/23/2005 5:29:09 AM PST by WmShirerAdmirer
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A powerful bomb tore through a shopping center in the anti-Syrian Christian heartland north of Beirut on Wednesday, killing two people and bringing Lebanon closer to chaos weeks before general elections.
The explosion, the second in a commercial Christian area in five days, was also set to sharpen a political rift following last month's killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Christian opposition leaders blamed Lebanon's Syrian-backed security agencies for the blasts. The opposition had demanded the resignation of the country's security chiefs and an international investigation into Hariri's killing.
"It has become clear to everyone that the security regime and its collaborators are responsible for terrorizing the people that united behind the demands of the opposition," a statement issued at the end of a Christian opposition meeting read.
The roof of the center in the upper class coastal area of Kaslik, 12 miles north of Beirut, collapsed and walls were blown out in the powerful explosion. Emergency services workers searched through the rubble for other victims.
Windows of nearby shops and buildings were shattered and broken glass littered streets lined with boutiques, jewelry stores and nightclubs. Police sources said the blast was caused by a large explosive charge placed inside the multi-story center, which was closed at the time.
They said the two people killed were Asian workers. The death toll would have been much higher if the blast had taken place in daytime at the usually crowded street.
Christian opposition figures who rushed to the commercial center said the bombings were aimed at undermining Lebanon's stability and urged supporters to foil any attempts to sow sectarian rifts.
"It is clear that those who carried out this attack are targeting the security and stability of the country," opposition member of parliament Faris Bouez told reporters. "It is a political message to the (anti-Syrian) independence uprising."
U.S.-led global pressure and Lebanese opposition protests have forced Syria to announce a troop withdrawal from Lebanon. It has already cut the number of its forces in its neighbor and pulled back to eastern Lebanon.
The current crisis is the worst since the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
In the previous incident, a car bomb exploded in a Christian suburb of Beirut early on Saturday, wounding 11 people. \ Kaslik residents, some dazed, others crying, ventured out after sunrise to sweep up glass from shattered shop fronts.
Security forces assessed the damage around the immediate area of the blast -- a tangle of twisted metal, dust and sheets of concrete hanging from the collapsed roof.
"We are afraid this is going to keep happening. The country is out of control. No one knows who comes and who goes in Lebanon," said George Akl, who was helping his son sweep shattered glass outside his hairdresser salon.
The explosion at around 1.30 a.m. came amid acute political tension since the Feb. 14 killing of Hariri in another bombing. The murder triggered a wave of anti-Syrian protests.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) said on Tuesday he expected Syria to present a credible and precise timetable on a full withdrawal of its troops and security services from Lebanon by early next month.
The anti-Syrian opposition has refused to sit in a national unity government with pro-Syrian loyalists. A delay in forming a government beyond around April 10 would mean a delay in the election, political sources said.
(Additional reporting by Lin Nueihed)
How long will the blame be shifted onto Syrian-backed security agencies, and not onto the different factions of the Lebanese people themselves?
According to the report, the two killed were Asian workers. Had the dead been Christian Lebanese and in greater numbers, would this incident be the spark that ignites or fans the flames towards another civil war?
Prevailing terrorist wisdom, if not creating chaos, death and destruction in the West Bank, or Gaza, why not now look to Lebanon?
I'm guessing this is a present from the "Religion of Peace."
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