 BEIRUT: The international community and Lebanese officials condemned Monday night's bomb attack in Beirut which left five people wounded. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called the bombing a a "terrorist attack" and urged all Lebanese parties to join hands and establish a "united and sovereign country." In a statement, Annan said he "strongly supports the efforts of the government of Lebanon to improve the security situation and urges it to bring to justice those behind this crime."
"Issue the usual statement in my name!"
"Yes, Mr. Secretary General!" |
The latest bombing, which has cost Lebanon almost $50 million in losses, came as top country officials continue to squabble over the appointment of new security chiefs for the country's main security agencies. That attack also comes as the head of a UN commission of inquiry into the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, Detlev Mehlis, gets ready to deliver an initial report to the Security Council in which he is expected to request his mandate be extended.
| Not being real cooperative, are they? I'm so surprised. |
Denouncing the bombing, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud described it as "another piece of the conspiracy that is targeting Lebanon and its safety and security." Lahoud, who has been accused by some political parties of hindering the appointment of new security heads, said: "Security agencies should intensify procedures that would suppress attempts to foil the country's stability." Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who headed for a one-day trip to Saudi Arabia yesterday, said the government will not be intimidated by "criminal acts," and that it will go on with its plans to rebuild the "concerned security apparatus in order to prevent such criminal acts."
| Still no word on who they arrested, though... |
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