Bomb Explodes Near Syrian Office
A car bomb exploded Friday near the headquarters of the Lebanese branch of Syria’s ruling political party, wounding a civilian and setting a dozen cars on fire.
The blast came a few hours after the Lebanese army reopened to pedestrians a crossing point between Beirut’s Muslim and Christian sectors, at the dividing Green Line, for the first time in about a year.
The crossing, which runs through the capital’s long-closed horse race track, was shut along with five others last spring by fighting between Christian and Muslim militias.
Police said the blast occurred about midday in a parking lot next to a high-rise that houses the Baath Arab Socialist Party offices in West Beirut. It was caused by a white Mercedes-Benz packed with 15 1/2 pounds of TNT, they added.
At least 60 bombings have occurred in Beirut since Feb. 22, when Syria deployed more than 7,000 troops in the city’s Muslim sector to quell three years of militia anarchy. Friday’s was the second car bombing in West Beirut in seven weeks.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks. The bombers apparently have tried to avoid casualties, and observers believe the attacks were aimed at making the Syrians look incapable of keeping peace in West Beirut.
In another development, Lebanon’s half-Muslim, half-Christian Cabinet has agreed to meet next week at the Parliament buildings near the Green Line race track.
It would be the Cabinet’s first meeting in six months.
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