March 14: Charges Filed against Suspects in Antelias Blast Contradicts Govt. Account on Matter

March 14: Charges Filed against Suspects in Antelias Blast Contradicts Govt. Statement on Matter

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Friday the government’s handling of various explosions that have taken place in Lebanon, most notably Thursday’s Antelias bombing and the Rouweis blast that took place a few weeks ago, accusing it of hiding the facts from the public.

It said in a statement: “It is making light of the developments and altering the facts in order to hide the truth.”

It explained that Military Tribunal Judge Saqr Saqr pressed charges against individuals suspected of being involved in the Antelias bombing, which contradicts the government statement that the blast took place between two people who were quarrelling over money, one of whom happened to have a hand grenade.

The charges demonstrate that other sides, besides the victims, were linked to the incident, said the statement.

The General Secretariat demanded an end to the political protection of the criminals who are targeting the Lebanese people, calling on the government “to take the necessary constitutional measures to hold the politicians who have altered the truth accountable for their actions.”

It also demanded that they put an end to the dominance of arms on the lives of the people.

Furthermore, it criticized the Higher Defense Council’s meeting on Friday, saying that it did not deal firmly with the security developments in Lebanon and therefore failed to reassure the Lebanese people over the country’s safety and stability.

Two people were killed in Antelias on Thursday when a grenade in their possession took off.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told cabinet that the explosion was a result of a financial and personal dispute between several people, including some car dealers.

He stressed that the probe hasn’t revealed that a political or another known figure was targeted.

Security forces are searching for a third person who is involved in the financial dispute, the minister said.

"Our investigation so far does not point to an act of sabotage," he told reporters.

Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio station 100.5 on Friday that the victims most probably tried to plant the explosives device in the vehicle of a third person who owes them money.

A few weeks ago, an explosion erupted in the Rouweis neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Mystery surrounds the circumstances of the explosion, while Hizbullah stated that it was caused by a gas canister.