Beirut Blast Overshadows Easter Celebrations in Lebanon, Eight Injured

least eight people were injured when a bomb rocked a Christian suburb of Beirut amid fears the country was heading towards a new period of civil war.

News reports said the massive blast late Saturday, March 26, came from an estimated 25 kilograms of explosives hidden in a parked car, which caused huge fires in an industrial neighborhood of East Beirut. Reporters saw how police and soldiers were at the scene in the Dikweneh area to cordon off the area while ambulances and fire trucks were rushed in.  

Speaking on Sunday, March 27, Patriarch Nasrallah Butrous Sfeir of Lebanon’s Maronite Christians told worshippers at Easter mass that the Lebanese must now choose between freedom and violence.

"CROSSROADS"

"The holiday this year does not give the faithful worldly cheer," Reuters news agency quoted him as saying said.

"The incidents … put (people) at a crossroads: either independence, sovereignty and freedom — and that is what most Lebanese want — or turmoil and difficulties," added the patriarch, who has reportedly been a long-time critic of what he sees as "Syria’s grip on Lebanon." Lebanon’s pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, leaving Easter mass Sunday, called on the Lebanese to stay united, Reuters news agency reported.

Although no group claimed responsibility for the blast, opposition political figures were quick to blame Syrian-backed security services for the blast. They reportedly believe it was an attempt to foment unrest in Lebanon as Syria pulls thousands of troops and intelligence agents out of the country.

WITHDRAWING

Syria has already withdrawn a third of its 14,000 troops and Reuters news agency quoted witnesses as saying that Syrian troops left six positions in the eastern Bekaa Valley overnight.

Saturday’s blast was the third attack against Christian targets in less than two weeks. On Tuesday, March 22, a blast killed three in a Christian town north of Beirut, days after another wounded 11 in Christian east Beirut, news reports said.

"The blast is making residents increasingly nervous. This is the third bombing in a week – all have occurred in predominantly Christian areas of the city," said Voice Of America reporter Sonja Pace in Beirut.

FEARS

Analysts say the attacks have raised fears the country is sliding back into a period comparable to the 1975-1990 civil war, in which thousands died.    

Lebanon has been in political turmoil since last month’s assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which critics contend was ordered by Syria. Amid a round of huge anti-Syrian demonstrations following the blast, Damascus agreed to begin withdrawing its military which it has stationed in Lebanon for years.

A United Nations fact-finding report said Lebanon’s own inquiry was seriously flawed and called for an international investigation. Although authorities criticized the conclusions, they accepted an international probe. (With: Stefan J. Bos, reports from Beirut, BosNewsLife Research).