Lebanon PM calls for national unity after Beirut blast
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati ([PressTV] file photo)
October 20, 2012
Makati said on Saturday he has offered his resignation to President Michel Suleiman, but it has been rejected.
The premier’s move came after a deadly bomb attack in the capital on Friday that killed eight people, including General Wissam al-Hassan, the intelligence chief of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces. Scores of others were also wounded.
Lebanese protesters took to the streets shortly after the explosion to condemn Hassan’s assassination.
On Friday, Lebanon’s opposition March 14 bloc said it held Prime Minister Mikati responsible for the attack and called on his government to resign.
“This government must go, and the prime minister is asked to present his resignation,” the group said in a statement.
Lebanon’s powerful resistance movement Hezbollah also condemned the attack, describing it as “an attempt to destabilize Lebanon and national unity.”
The explosion occurred in Beirut’s eastern Ashrafiya district, which is a predominantly Christian district, and near the headquarters of the Phalange, a Maronite Christian party, during the rush hour as parents were picking up their children from school. Several buildings were damaged and many cars were set on fire as a result of the blast.
It was the first major bomb attack in Beirut since 2008. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Lebanese Premier Mikati said the government was trying to identify the perpetrators and that they would be punished.
PG/JR/SS
‘Libya in chaos, divided as never before’ [video]
Russia Today
October 18, 2012
In Libya, at least 11 people have been killed and scores wounded after militia linked to the defence ministry shelled Bani Walid – a former stronghold of late Colonel Gaddafi. The country remains close to chaos following the Western-backed armed rebellion last year that toppled the nation’s long-time dictator. RT talks to Libyan political activist Ali Alkasa.
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The Global Research Website was Hacked
Global Research
October 19, 2012
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Mali Refugees Spreading – Yahya [video]
108morris108
October 19, 2012
The aftermath of NATO’s assistance in North Africa is plenty of weapons in Mali, it is more Al Qaeda types who have taken control of Northern Mali. Now the French, the Algerians and the EU have all voiced support for a military intervention.
Which will probably happen quite soon from Western sponsored African forces.
A google search of Yahya Eromosele will bring up his FB and YT accounts
‘Day of Rage’: Lebanon prepares to bury slain security chief [video included]
Russia Today
October 20, 2012
Lebanon’s anti-Syrian opposition has called for a “Day of Rage” to coincide with the funeral of slain security chief Wissam al-Hasan. Friday’s deadly bombing and assassination risks putting Beirut on a collision course with Damascus.
Hundreds of protesters in downtown Beirut rallied outside the office of Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday as calls for his resignation continue unabated over his alleged role in the high-profile assassination. Thousands more had gathered on Martyrs Square in the heart of the capital.
PM Najib Mikati, who enjoys support from Hezbollah, Damascus and Iran, offered to step down to placate those who accused him of playing a role in Friday’s deadly car bombing. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman refused his resignation.
The March 14 coalition has also called for a “Day of Rage” in the Lebanese capital on Sunday as with opposition leaders accusing Syria of being behind the attack.
“Let tomorrow be … a day of anger in the face of the butcher Bashar Assad and the black regime that rules Syria with the power of fire and destruction and wants to export blood and devastation to our country Lebanon,” the Lebanese Daily Star cites MP Nuhad Mashnouq, an outspoken critic of Assad, as saying.
March 14 said that the protesters would call on the Arab League and the UN Security Council to take the appropriate measures to preserve Lebanon’s stability.
AFP Photo / Anwar Amro
“Such measures should include deploying the international troops United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon alongside the Lebanese-Syrian borders,” Mashnouq said.
Hassan will be interned near the tomb of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri on Martyrs Square, Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi told al-Mustaqbal television.
Hariri’s 2005 assassination sparked the 2005 Cedar Revolution which resulted in the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. The March 14 coalition takes its name from the date the revolution kicked off.
The funeral will be held at the al-Amine mosque in downtown Beirut, near the mausoleum, and will follow afternoon prayers.
Rafiq’s son and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri insisted “everyone of you is personally invited to attend the funeral on Sunday,” but said that the roads should remain clear so that access to Marty’s Square will not be blocked.
MP Sami Gemayel, from the Christian Phalange Party, also called on supporters to come out in masse to Sunday’s funeral. Gemayel accused the Syrian government of dragging Lebanon into a direct confrontation.
“We tried to disassociate our nation from the conflict in Syria, but the regime is challenging the Lebanese people once again by assassinating Hassan,” the MP said.
Gemayel drew a line in the sand, saying Lebanese officials must decide if they are loyal to their own country or Syria.
“It’s a battle between Lebanon and a foreign country that is violating its sovereignty and unity,” he added.
Gemayel also said the March 14 coalition should once again become a resistance movement that can safeguard both the Lebanese people and their state.
AFP Photo / Anwar Amro
“We will continue our struggle until we form a cabinet that is capable of protecting the Lebanese, the independence of the country and a one that can order the army to deploy along the Lebanese-Syrian border,”
continued.
The assassination is as a major blow the March 14 coalition, to which Hassan, a Sunni Muslim, was closely allied.
Hassan was also a close ally of former PM Saad Hariri, who fled Lebanon in April 2011 after his government collapsed in January of that year amid fears he would be assassinated.
Hezbollah recently accused Hariri and his Future Movement of supporting the Syrian opposition.
“I say to the Future Movement and to Saad Hariri: have mercy on Lebanon and its people, have mercy on Syria and its people and stop funding and arming the [Syrian] opposition,” the National News Agency quoted Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem as saying last Saturday.
“[Stop] managing armed groups in Turkey and involving Lebanon in the details of the Syrian crisis. [Stop] sheltering gunmen in Lebanon and smuggling weapons from Lebanon to Syria,” Qassem continued.
Hezbollah and the Future Movement have routinely accused each other of meddling in the Syrian conflict.
Hassan died when an explosive-laden car detonated in Ashrafiyeh district of Beirut, a majority Christian neighborhood of the Lebanese capital. Seven others were killed in the blast, at least were injured, and surrounding buildings were seriously damaged.
It was the first car bombing in Lebanon in four years, when the country’s top anti-terrorism investigator was killed along with three others.
The attack sparked riots and protests which continued into Saturday, as thousands of people across Lebanon demonstrated against the bombing in Beirut.
The UN has condemned the attack calling for a thorough investigation to find the perpetrators, while the US called the blast a“terrorist attack.”
Syria also condemned the deadly blast.
People set up tents and gather outside the Lebanese Grand Serail also known as the Government Palace, the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Lebanon, in downtown Beirut, on October 20, 2012 (AFP Photo / Anwar Amro)
Syrian Rebels’ Link with Al Qaeda Disclosed
Friends of Syria
October 20, 2012
The link between the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Al Qaeda terrorist group was unveiled after the FSA officially confirmed establishment of a group whose emblem is the flag of the Al Qaeda.
According to a report by the Syrian Truth (Haqiqah) website, the FSA, the main armed rebel group fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s government, has made a formal announcement about forming a group named “Al Mojahedin” under the flag of the Al Qaeda.
The announcement is seen as an official confirmation of ties between the rebel group and the Al Qaeda international terrorist organization.
Earlier this month, the FSA had also announced that it has set up two battalions called ‘Martyr Saddam Hussein’ in the cities of Idlib and Deir al-Zour in Syria.
In a blatant act of defiance and in a move aimed at provoking the feelings of Kurds in general and Syrian Kurds in particular, the FSA formed the two battalions.
Analysts believe that these acts, which are condemned and seen as worrisome by Kurds and all Syrians, might push the opponents to retract and backtrack on their moves against Bashar Assad’s government.
Naming the FSA battalions after Saddam Hussein was met with overwhelming outrage and condemnation by the Kurds.
Earlier reports also said that the FSA is building a military base for the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as the MEK, NCR and PMOI) in the bordering areas of Syria and Lebanon.
The announcement was made yesterday by Basam al-Dad, a spokesman of the terrorist Free Syrian Army. Al-Dad claimed that the group wants to enjoy the experiences and combat skills of the MKO in different battle fronts.
The MKO is blacklisted by much of the international community.
Lebanese Intel Chief Assassinated – Who did it? – Lebanese Girl [video]
108morris108
October 19, 2012
The man assassinated is associated with so many sides and controversies. He busted an Israeli spy ring – worked for the side trained by the Americans – was a bodyguard to the assassinated Hariri – but didnt go to work on the day of his assassination. Today 11 people were killed and 80 wounded in his assassination.
PN 