At
least eight people were killed and more than 80 wounded when a massive
car bomb ripped through central Beirut during rush hour traffic, raising
fears whether sectarian violence has raised it’s ugly head again,
nearly after seven years.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack which occurred near a Christian neighborhood in Achrafieh district. The Lebanon state TV reported the explosion occurred in the vicinity of March 14 coalition, an organization that opposes Syrian president Bashar-al-Assad and Hezbollah. Several reports said the explosion was as a result of the ongoing strife in Syria.
In 2005 in a suicide attack 20 people including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in downtown Beirut.
Several buildings were damaged in the explosion.
Meanwhile the BBC said that he blast caused considerable damage, setting cars ablaze and destroying the facades of nearby buildings.
Ronnie Chatah, who lives 500m from the site of the blast, told the BBC: “The building shook and it echoed throughout the neighborhood.”
The BBC’s Wyre Davies in Beirut says that although the attack comes after a long period of relative calm in the city, many residents had feared something like this would happen and that Lebanon would be inevitably dragged into the conflict in Syria.
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called it a “cowardly terrorist act”.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the government was trying to identify the perpetrators and said they would be punished.
The attack occurred close to the headquarters of the Kataeb, better known as the Phalange, a Maronite Christian group.
The general secretariat of the Western-backed 14 March coalition of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is also based in the area.
An MP from the alliance, Michel Pharaon, told al-Jazeera TV: “I think Ashrafiya is a target, and 14 March is a target. This region is symbolic because it is in the heart of the capital and it is a Christian neighborhood.”
No group claimed responsibility for the attack which occurred near a Christian neighborhood in Achrafieh district. The Lebanon state TV reported the explosion occurred in the vicinity of March 14 coalition, an organization that opposes Syrian president Bashar-al-Assad and Hezbollah. Several reports said the explosion was as a result of the ongoing strife in Syria.
In 2005 in a suicide attack 20 people including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in downtown Beirut.
Several buildings were damaged in the explosion.
Meanwhile the BBC said that he blast caused considerable damage, setting cars ablaze and destroying the facades of nearby buildings.
Ronnie Chatah, who lives 500m from the site of the blast, told the BBC: “The building shook and it echoed throughout the neighborhood.”
The BBC’s Wyre Davies in Beirut says that although the attack comes after a long period of relative calm in the city, many residents had feared something like this would happen and that Lebanon would be inevitably dragged into the conflict in Syria.
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called it a “cowardly terrorist act”.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the government was trying to identify the perpetrators and said they would be punished.
The attack occurred close to the headquarters of the Kataeb, better known as the Phalange, a Maronite Christian group.
The general secretariat of the Western-backed 14 March coalition of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is also based in the area.
An MP from the alliance, Michel Pharaon, told al-Jazeera TV: “I think Ashrafiya is a target, and 14 March is a target. This region is symbolic because it is in the heart of the capital and it is a Christian neighborhood.”
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