BEIRUT — A car bomb ripped through a densely populated neighborhood of Beirut on Friday, bringing the violence threatening to engulf the region to the heart of Lebanon’s capital after years of relative calm.
Initial reports said that at least eight people were killed and more than 70 injured in the mid-afternoon blast, apparently caused by a car bomb planted in a quiet side street near Sassine Square, in the mostly Christian area of Ashrafiyeh.
Local television networks broadcast scenes of blazing cars, body parts and tangled piles of masonry and broken glass as rescue workers sifted through the charred wreckage looking for victims. A bank and an office of one of Lebanon’s main Christian factions were located a short distance away, but two apartment buildings bore the brunt of the explosion.
There was no immediately discernible target, suggesting that the bomb either exploded prematurely or was simply intended to kill and maim civilians in an effort to stir the sectarian tensions that have been steadily rising across Lebanon as the conflict in Syria escalates.
The blast gouged a crater 15 feet deep and blew cars into pieces that landed blocks away, said George Azzi, who lives nearby and ran outside into crowds of screaming people, smoke and debris. “I’m worried that we’ll return to the events of the past, with random explosions all around town for no reason,” he said, expressing a widespread concern that the blast may signal the start of a campaign.
Many observers have warned that if the Syrian crisis is not contained, it will spill over to the region, said Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut. “Now we see it is beginning to spread into Lebanon,” he said.
Nadim Gemayel, a Christian lawmaker, said he had no doubt that the blast was linked to the situation in Syria and accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government of seeking to ignite a conflict in Lebanon to detract from its problems at home.
“This explosion was a political one for sure. It aimed to create terror and start a civil war in the country,” he said. “There is a regime that is struggling next door to us .
Initial reports said that at least eight people were killed and more than 70 injured in the mid-afternoon blast, apparently caused by a car bomb planted in a quiet side street near Sassine Square, in the mostly Christian area of Ashrafiyeh.
Local television networks broadcast scenes of blazing cars, body parts and tangled piles of masonry and broken glass as rescue workers sifted through the charred wreckage looking for victims. A bank and an office of one of Lebanon’s main Christian factions were located a short distance away, but two apartment buildings bore the brunt of the explosion.
There was no immediately discernible target, suggesting that the bomb either exploded prematurely or was simply intended to kill and maim civilians in an effort to stir the sectarian tensions that have been steadily rising across Lebanon as the conflict in Syria escalates.
The blast gouged a crater 15 feet deep and blew cars into pieces that landed blocks away, said George Azzi, who lives nearby and ran outside into crowds of screaming people, smoke and debris. “I’m worried that we’ll return to the events of the past, with random explosions all around town for no reason,” he said, expressing a widespread concern that the blast may signal the start of a campaign.
Many observers have warned that if the Syrian crisis is not contained, it will spill over to the region, said Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut. “Now we see it is beginning to spread into Lebanon,” he said.
Nadim Gemayel, a Christian lawmaker, said he had no doubt that the blast was linked to the situation in Syria and accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government of seeking to ignite a conflict in Lebanon to detract from its problems at home.
“This explosion was a political one for sure. It aimed to create terror and start a civil war in the country,” he said. “There is a regime that is struggling next door to us .