Beirut blast kills three
96 others wounded in bomb attack at Christian neighbourhood
BEIRUT: A powerful car bomb ripped through a rush hour street in mainly Christian east Beirut, killing at least three people and wounding 96, as tensions grow in Lebanon over the war in neighbouring Syria.
The bombing, for which no one has claimed responsibility, also touched off painful memories of Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war and the political unrest that has troubled often uneasy post-war years.
Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told reporters at the scene that three bodies were retrieved from the site of the blast, and that one of those hurt was in critical condition.
The blast occurred in a busy square in Ashrafieh as pupils were leaving schools and bank employees headed home, only 200m from the headquarters of the Christian party, the Phalange, which is hostile to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
State prosecutor Hatem Madi said the car “was blown off dozens of metres” from where it was parked on a street off Sassine Square.
Bomb experts said the car was packed with 30kg of explosives.
Mangled remains of the car sat atop another vehicle amid a sea of devastation, broken glass and rubble.
Two apartment blocs were gutted, with balconies torn off by the force of the blast.
Windows were shattered, cars below crushed by falling masonry and shreds of what used to be curtains dangled from upper storeys.
Several roads branch off from the square into different parts of Beirut, and the area is dense with apartment blocks, cafes, restaurants and shops.
Firemen rushed to put out flames and Red Cross workers braved the blaze in one building to evacuate bloodied casualties.
“We heard a powerful explosion. The earth shook under our feet,” said Roland, 19, among a large crowd of army, rescue workers and onlookers.
Nancy, aged 45, was in tears as she reflected on having narrowly escaped death.
“Had we not been out of the house buying medicines, we would have died,” she said. “Our house was burned. Thank God we’re alive.
“This attack is a message to Christians and to all Lebanese, to tell us nobody is safe in this country,” said Nancy. “Who knows what will happen in future?”
Relatives of employees at BEMO bank, whose windows were broken, dashed to the area to look for their children. “Where is Pierre?” one man cried.
A young woman sifted through rubble, frantically shouting “mother, mother” while around her passersby were in shock and crying.
A rescue worker, identifying himself as Rahmeh, said “this reminds me of attacks during the civil war and after the war.”
Phalange MP for Ashrafieh Nadim Gemayel accused Syria of orchestrating the blast, but Syrian Information Minister Omran alZohbi condemned it.
“The Syrian regime is not foreign to such explosions. This is a political blast par excellence,” Gemayel told LBC television.
“This regime (Syria) which is crumbling is trying to export its conflict to Lebanon.” — AFP