Beirut (AsiaNews) – Lebanon is observing a day of national mourning for Sunni lawmaker Walid Eido, his son Khaled and eight other people, killed yesterday in Beirut by a car packed with about 80 kg of explosive. The attack drew broad domestic and international condemnation. It is the sixth incident since May 20 when clashes between Fatah al-Islam militiamen and Lebanese army troops broke out in Palestinian refugee camp of Nahar al-Bared, northern Lebanon.
Lebanon is reeling under the shock of the explosion and everyone is wondering when the country will find stable peace and security.
“We want to live, we want peace,” many Lebanese are saying as they are forced to stay within doors out of fear for more attacks around the country.
Some in Lebanon are also asking whether the murder of Eido, a prominent MP and the third lawmaker from the ruling anti-Syrian coalition to be killed, is not designed to change the balance of power in parliament. For this reason many are calling for by-elections to replace the dead MPs and why many believe that President Emile Lahoud will find ways to deny that possibility.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has called for an urgent meeting of the Arab League so that it “assumes its responsibilities towards Lebanon.” The meeting should take place tomorrow.
Mr Siniora also asked that the UN probe into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to also investigate the Eido murder.
“March 14” MPs, the group of parliamentarians to which Eido belonged, called on the Arab League to take a stance against Syria, whom they consider the instigator a series of attacks designed to destroy Lebanon.
As expected Syrian authorities have denied any involvement in the affair and have instead condemned UN Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen whose report points to Syrian involvement in illegal weapons smuggling across the Lebanese-Syrian border. For the Lebanese government these weapons are meant to provide support to Hezbollah and terrorist groups like Fatah al-Islam.
A news report from Syria’s state news agency SANA citing an official Syrian Foreign Ministry source denies the charges and blames the UN for relying on rumours that Israel “circulates aiming at harming Syrian-Lebanese relations.”
