Rocket Attacks on Southern Beirut Injure 5 People

Five people were wounded on Sunday morning when two rockets fell on Beirut’s southern suburb on Sunday morning from Mount Lebanon.

One of the rockets was fired at a car showroom near the Mar Mikhael church, Shiyah, and the other landed on a balcony in the Maroun Misk neighborhood without exploding.

Media and security sources said that among the injured people were three Syrians, one of them was severely wounded. Security forces are searching for a third rocket in the area that was fired, but did not explode. Security sources told Al-Manar TV that the third rocket which was fired from Aitat, in the Mount Lebanon area, and fell in a valley, south east of Beirut.

The army has since cordoned off the area and began investigations to determine the type of rockets fired and who was behind it.

President Michel Sleiman said the attack’s perpetrators were “terrorists and vandals who do not want peace and stability for Lebanon and the Lebanese.”

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel soon arrived at the scene, saying that the attack was aimed at creating tensions in Lebanon. “Lebanon cannot support more tensions and I hope all sides would realize this,” he said, revealing that the rockets were fired from the east of the area.

Charbel discussed details of the attack with Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati who condemned the rocket attacks, saying in a statement: “The attacks are aimed at creating security tensions and certain retaliations, given the timing of the incident.” “We call on all sides to act wisely to prevent those seeking strife to achieve their goals,” he stressed.

Speaking from the scene of the attacks, Caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said they are aimed at creating strife and the response should be by emphasizing the role of state institutions. “The attacks are aimed at targeting the people’s stability and the location where they were fired is irrelevant.”

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told journalists in Abu Dhabi that France “very strongly condemns” the incident and stressed it was crucial to “avoid the war in Syria becoming a war in Lebanon.”