Suleiman, Berri, Miqati: Dahieh Blast Must Prompt Lebanese to End their Differences

President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Premier-designate Tammam Salam condemned on Tuesday the blast that rocked the Bir al-Abed neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, urging the Lebanese people to end their disputes.

Suleiman said in a statement: “The explosion should prompt officials to end their differences, return to dialogue, and commit to the Baabda Declaration.”

“The security of the people must be respected regardless of how great the political disputes get,” he remarked.

He demanded that the security and judicial agencies intensify their efforts to uncover the perpetrators, “who are planting fear and terror among the people.”

For his part, Berri remarked that the attack is aimed at dividing the Lebanese people, urging them to exercise vigilance to thwart the criminals' plans.

Earlier, Miqati said in a statement: “The blast demonstrates that the criminals are bent on following through with their plan to destabilize Lebanon without distinguishing between one area and another.”

The blast demands that the Lebanese end their differences in order to end the political and security deadlock, he added.

“They should rise above petty disputes to reach an understanding that would ensure that Lebanon end its crisis,” Miqati stressed, while saying that they should make concessions for the sake of the country.

Salam later condemned the attack, saying that it is aimed at destabilizing Lebanon and the security of its people.

He called for exercising the “highest degrees of vigilance and national solidarity to thwart attempts to tamper with Lebanon's security, regardless of which side is behind them.”

“Today's ugly crime is part of a series of attacks aimed at targeting the country's security and dragging the people towards strife,” he noted.

“It is our duty as political leaders to improve our performance in order to thwart the enemies of our nation from achieving their goals, fortify our internal scene, and bolster our state institutions,” Salam said.

He called for supporting the security authorities, hoping that they would succeed in uncovering the criminals.

A blast rocked the Bir al-Abed neighborhood on Tuesday morning.

Initial reports said that at least 50 people were wounded in the explosion that was caused by a booby-trapped vehicle.