Officials Denounce Bir al-Abed Blast, Call on State to Control Security Situation
Several officials denounced on Tuesday the blast that targeted Bir al-Abed neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, calling on the state to control the security situation in Lebanon.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned the explosion, saying that the incident compels the Lebanese to consolidate national consensus and distance the country from any foreign conflict.
“We must evade slipping into wars that will only trigger more division and instability in Lebanon,” Hariri said in a statement.
He pointed out that the Lebanese must be aware of the dangers surrounding the country and the region, in particular, Israel's attempt to create sedition by plotting “terrorist acts such as Tuesday's blast.”
Hariri called on the competent judicial and security authorities to swiftly reveal the culprits responsible for the explosion
He pointed out that the political leaders are responsible for ending all disputes that degrade the situation in the country and cause the security violations that are moving from an area to another.
At least 50 people were wounded in the explosion that was caused by a booby-trapped vehicle.
Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn said that the Lebanese are at a crossroad amid the situation in the region as these kinds of explosions only target stability.
For his part, Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel denounced the explosion, considering it is a sign of the dangers that are threatening the country.
“The state should control the security situation in the country,” Gemayel stated.
He later said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri: “We wish the wounded a speedy recovery and announce our solidarity with the residents of Dahieh, and Hizbullah in particular.”
“The terrorist attack not only targets the Dahieh residents, but the whole of Lebanon,” he added.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea later condemned the attack, demanding that the judicial and security agencies deal with the matter with “complete seriousness” in order to reveal the perpetrators as soon as possible.
“The security of the nation and its people can only be provided by the strong and capable state through all of its security and military institutions,” he added.
“There can be no security in Lebanon without implementing the policy of disassociation in full,” he declared.
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat considered the attack as an assault on the national security.
Officially neutral in Syria's conflict, Lebanon is deeply divided into pro- and anti-Assad camps.
Hizbullah and its allies back President Bashar Assad, who adheres to the Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam, while the Sunni-led opposition supports rebels seeking his ouster.
Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh later condemned the Dahieh attack, calling on officials to pay attention to their political rhetoric.
He warned: “The rhetoric of sectarian incitement that we are witnessing today might be exploited by Lebanon's enemies to undermine domestic stability."
The March 14 General Secretariat, on the other hand, said that the Dahieh blast targeted all Lebanon.
“Salvation should be for all or for no one,” a statement issued by the March 14 general secretariat said.
It called on the competent judicial and security authorities to take the necessary measures to reveal the culprits responsible for the incident.
Al-Mustaqbal Parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora also denounced the attack, calling on citizens to be aware of the conspiracies surrounding the country.
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