IMAN Chairman condemns sectarian bombing in Tripoli
Sábado, 10 Enero 2015
Lebanon violence: Bomb blast hits northern city of Tripoli
BBC NEWS
A suicide bomb attack in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli has killed at least seven people, in the latest violence linked to Syria's civil war.
The Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, said it was behind the attack, which also injured 30 people.
The blast, on a cafe in a predominantly Alawite neighbourhood, was the first major attack in Lebanon for months.
There has been tension in the past between Tripoli's Sunni Muslim majority population and its Alawite minority.
'Revenge attack'
Lebanon's National News Agency said the attack was carried out by two men from Tripoli, where longstanding religious tensions have been exacerbated by the war in neighbouring Syria.
In a statement, the Nusra Front said the attack was "in revenge for the Sunnis in Syria and Lebanon".
The war in Syria has pitted the government of President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, against an insurgency dominated by Sunnis.
Tripoli had been in the midst of a tense calm since last October when fighting broke out between Sunni militants and government troops, killing 11 soldiers, five civilians and about two dozen militants.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam said the bombing was "a new attempt to spread the seeds of strife" in Tripoli but insisted that it would not "weaken the determination of the state to confront terrorism and terrorists".
Lebanon's security has been severely damaged by the Syria crisis. It has also been worsened by its own paralysed government, with the country having been without a president since May last year.
Responding to the news, IMAN Chairman, Ribal Al-Assad said:
"I am absolutely appalled to hear of yet another sectarian attack in Lebanon perpetrated by Islamic extremists.
These are disgraceful acts of violence against innocent civilians and demonstrate the lengths these animals are willing to go to in pursuit of their aim.
We must understand that these people will not stop until they have created an Islamic Caliphate in the region; in the process they will wipe out all those who do not conform to their narrow and perverted ideology.
The international community must also understand that this is a global problem which requires a global approach - the international community must put aside their differences and unite against Islamic extremism immediately.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this time."
Responding to the news, IMAN Chairman, Ribal Al-Assad said:
"I am absolutely appalled to hear of yet another sectarian attack in Lebanon perpetrated by Islamic extremists.
These are disgraceful acts of violence against innocent civilians and demonstrate the lengths these animals are willing to go to in pursuit of their aim.
We must understand that these people will not stop until they have created an Islamic Caliphate in the region; in the process they will wipe out all those who do not conform to their narrow and perverted ideology.
The international community must also understand that this is a global problem which requires a global approach - the international community must put aside their differences and unite against Islamic extremism immediately.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this time."
