Red Cross members and security forces inspect the damage of a bomb blast site in east Beirut March 19,2005. A car bomb exploded in a mainly Christian eastern suburb of Lebanon's capital early on Saturday, wounding six people. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
Car Bomb Explodes in Lebanese Capital, Six Wounded
By Lin Noueihed BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded in a Christian suburb of eastern Beirut on Saturday, wounding at least six people and raising fresh fears of a return to Lebanon's violent past.
The blast devastated the ground and first floors of an apartment block, blowing out balconies, shattering windows in surrounding buildings and wrecking dozens of vehicles, a Reuters correspondent at the scene said.
The vehicle containing the bomb exploded after midnight in an adjacent car park, gouging out a crater.
"I was standing under this building and we heard a huge explosion and there was a big cloud of dust, and glass flew everywhere. We saw this car just fly into the air and land on the street right in front of us," said witness Rany Ayoub.
It was unclear whether the attack was politically motivated, but residents gathering at the scene -- clearly shocked and some still dressed in their pajamas -- blamed Syria. They were nervous, however, about being quoted by name.
Lebanon has been rocked by political turmoil since Feb. 14 when former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was killed in a car bombing, which many Lebanese blame on Syria. Damascus denies the charge, but the assassination has prompted mass public protests against Syria's military and political influence in Lebanon.
Faced with mounting international pressure, particularly from President Bush, Syria has begun pulling its troops out of its tiny neighbor after a three decade presence and its intervention in a 1975-1990 civil war.
A security source said a nearby bingo hall may have been the target of the bombing. The bingo hall was not damaged apart from broken windows.
TROOPS SEAL OFF AREA
Soldiers and other security forces sealed off the area. At least six people were taken to hospital, medical sources said.
"I was asleep. My wife was praying when we heard the blast. There are no doors in my house now. No windows. All our stuff was turned upside down," said Tannous Jibril, an elderly man who lived on the first floor of the apartment block.
"My cousin lives in the same building. He has four daughters who were asleep, but they were not hurt thank God."
The building's ground floor, which residents say housed small clothing stores, had a gaping hole criss-crossed with twisted metal. The blast smashed the wall of a first floor office, exposing desks and cabinets inside.
Many analysts and politicians warn strains are evident in the precarious political, religious and communal balance achieved since Lebanon's civil war. They say political tensions could spill into violence.
Leading United Nations envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, who has been involved in negotiations with Lebanon and Syria, said on Friday he was worried another leading Lebanese figure could be killed unless there was a cooling off period in the country.
Maronite Christians, about one-fifth of the population and long Syria's most vocal opponents, have dominated the past few weeks' protests demanding the withdrawal of Syrian troops.
Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun said on Friday he hoped to end 14 years of exile and return to Lebanon within weeks, as soon as the Syrians had completed their withdrawal.
Syria finished the first phase of its pullout on Thursday.
A Lebanese security source said 4,000 to 6,000 Syrian troops had returned home since the pullout plan was announced on March 5, leaving 8,000 to 10,000 in eastern Lebanon.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expects Syria to fully withdraw its forces before Lebanese elections due in May.
Washington has also demanded the disarmament of Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah guerrillas. But Hizbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, has vowed to keep its guns to fight Israel rather than confine itself to politics as U.S. officials want.
Deepening Lebanon's political crisis, key opposition leader Walid Jumblatt has said he and his allies will not join a government as long as pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud remains in office.
That stance could wreck a bid to forge a unity government by pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami, who resigned on Feb. 28 under opposition pressure but was reappointed last week.
Lebanese investigators walk inside a building wrecked by car bomb in the New Jdeideh neighborhood, in the northern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, early Saturday, March 19, 2005. A car bomb wrecked the front of a building in the northern suburbs of the Lebanese capital early Saturday, wounding seven people, police said. The explosion came amid major political turmoil in Lebanon in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops to east Lebanon and Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A Lebanese policeman runs across the site after a car bomb exploded, wounding six people and destroyed the first floor of an apartment block in Beirut, early March 19, 2005. The car bomb exploded in a mainly Christian eastern suburb of Lebanon's capital early Saturday. Lebanon has been rocked by political turmoil since February 14 when former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was killed in a car- bomb attack, for which Lebanese many held Damascus responsible. Syria denies the charge. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A Lebanese soldier speaks to an unidentified man looking for his relatives who lived in a building wrecked by car bomb in the New Jdeideh neighborhood, in the northern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, early Saturday March 19, 2005. A car bomb wrecked the front of a building in the northern suburbs of the Lebanese capital early Saturday, wounding seven people, police said. The explosion came amid major political turmoil in Lebanon in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops to east Lebanon and Syria.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese soldiers block the way near a destroyed car damaged by a bomb in the New Jdeideh neighborhood, in the northern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, early Saturday March 19, 2005. A car bomb wrecked the front of the building, wounding seven people, police said. The explosion came amid major political turmoil in Lebanon in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops to east Lebanon and Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)