Blast rocks Beirut, wounding three
A loud explosion turned several buildings in a Beirut industrial area into raging infernos today and a military officer said at least three people were wounded. Arab TV stations cited security officials saying a bomb caused the blast.
The natureof the explosion was not immediately known, but witnesses said the blast, coming on the eve of the Easter holiday, occurred in the Bouchrieh-Dekweneh industrial zone in a predominantly Christian part of north-eastern Beirut.
Orange flames engulfed at least two buildings, apparently containing a wood factory and print shop in the zone, one of the largest such areas north of Beirut where several printing, wood, plastic and cable factories are based. It is also close to a residential area.
The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the explosion caused a huge fire in a wood factory in the area, adding that at least three Asian workers were wounded. He said it was difficult to know the nature of the explosion because of the fire. He said some of the factories in the area contained highly flammable material.
Civil Defence officers and the Red Cross were calling on people to stay away from the area, fearing the spread of fire and more explosions caused by flammable materials and fuels in the factories.
Tensions in Lebanon have been high amid major political turmoil in Lebanon in the wake of the February 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops to east Lebanon and Syria.
Two bombs have rocked Christian, anti-Syrian strongholds in Lebanon in the past week, killing two people and injuring more than 10, sparking fears of the return of the sectarian violence that plagued Lebanon during the 1975-90 civil war.
The motive behind those attacks were not immediately clear, but Lebanese opposition leaders have blamed Syrian security agents and pro-Damascus Lebanese authorities of carrying out the attacks to sow fear in the community.
