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Deadly blasts in Lebanon: 42 killed, over 500 wounded
Deadly blasts in Lebanon: 42 killed, over 500 wounded (Reuters) / 24 August 2013 Twin explosions hit two mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, killing at least 42 people and wounding hundreds, intensifying the sectarian strife that has spilled over from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. Rescuers carry a body outside one of two mosque hit by explosions in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday. — Reuters The apparently coordinated blasts — the biggest and deadliest in Tripoli since the end of Lebanon’s own civil war — struck as locals were finishing Juma prayers. Lebanese officials appealed for calm. The explosions in Tripoli, 70km from Beirut came a week after a huge car bomb killed at least 24 people in a part of the capital Beirut that is controlled by militant movement Hezbollah. A recent resurgence of sectarian violence in Lebanon has been stoked by the conflagration in Syria, where President Bashar Al Assad is fighting a rebellion. Both Hezbollah and radical groups in Lebanon have sent fighters over the border to support opposing sides in Syria. Medical and security sources said the death toll from Friday’s blasts in Tripoli had risen to 42 by late afternoon. Hundreds more were wounded, they said. Earlier, the Lebanese Red Cross said more than 500 people were wounded. The first explosion hit the Taqwa Mosque and killed at least 14 people there, according to ac-counts earlier in the day. Further deaths were reported from a second blast outside Al Salam Mosque, which the Interior Ministry said was hit by a car laden with 100kg of explosives. A Reuters reporter at the scene said the crater from the blast was about four metres wide and 2.5 metres deep and the floors of the mosque were covered in blood. A 50-metre stretch of the road was charred black and the twisted remains of cars littered the area. “We were just bowing down to pray for the second time and the bomb went off. The air cleared, and I looked around me and saw bodies,” said Samir Jadool, 39. Lebanon’s Red Cross said more than 500 people were wounded in the two explosions. Television footage showed people running through the streets, some of them carrying bloodied victims. Near the Taqwa Mosque blast site, angry men toting AK-47 assault rifles took to the streets and fired in the air while other men threw rocks at Lebanese soldiers nearby. Video obtained by local news channel LBC showed the moment of the explosion at Al Salam mosque. The blast ripped through a wall of the mosque, showering clouds of dust on people sitting on prayer mats and sending dozens running out of the building. Lebanese officials called for calm as tensions rose in Tripoli, a Mediterranean port that has seen some of the worst Syria crossover violence. Former internal security chief Ashraf Rifi, whose home was damaged by the second blast, warned that Lebanon was facing a gathering storm of violence. “We are still in the beginning of the storm and we must remain aware and try to protect this nation,” he said, speaking outside his home. “This storm has become a huge, grave danger.” Witnesses at the scene of the blasts said anger was rising among locals, who were shouting out accusations that Assad’s government or Hezbollah were behind the attack. Hezbollah released a statement condemning the Tripoli blasts and expressing solidarity with the victims, saying they were targets of efforts to fan more violence in Lebanon. “We consider this the completion of an effort to plunge Lebanon into chaos and destruction,” the statement said. People gather outside the mosque on the site of a powerful explosion in Tripoli. — AFP Hezbollah’s political opponents called on the group to withdraw its forces from Syria in response to Friday’s attack. Lebanese Defence Minister Fayez Ghosn warned against being dragged into deeper sectarian bloodshed. “We are calling for calm and vigilance, because the aim of this (blasts) is to stoke strife between sects,” he told LBC. Continue reading
Egypt’s Mubarak leaves jail for house arrest
Egypt’s Mubarak leaves jail for house arrest (AFP) / 23 August 2013 Egypt’s toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak was transferred from prison to house arrest at a military hospital on Thursday, in a move overshadowed by a blistering crackdown against his Islamist successors. The former strongman, forced to quit in early 2011, was flown by medical helicopter to a military hospital, where he will remain under house arrest as he stands trial on corruption and murder charges. His ouster in 2011 was a pivotal moment in regional democratic upheavals that in Egypt led to an Islamist government, which lasted a year before a popularly backed military coup last month. In other circumstances, the 85-year-old’s removal from prison might have caused shockwaves. But with Egypt mired in a deadly conflict between the military-installed government and Islamists, Mubarak’s transfer took place amid little fanfare or protest. He was ordered released after his lawyer argued Mubarak’s stay in prison had exceeded the maximum pre-verdict detention, and Mubarak made financial amends for one of his charges. He still faces trial for corruption and his role in the deaths of protesters during the uprising that toppled him, with his next hearing on Sunday. Prime minister Hazem Al Beblawi, empowered with the authority to order arrests under the current state of emergency, ordered Mubarak to be placed under house arrest after release from jail. Mubarak chose to be held at the military hospital, the official MENA news agency reported. The decision to grant Mubarak pre-trial release added a volatile new element to the political turmoil that has gripped Egypt since the army ousted president Mohammed Mursi on July 3 following massive protests against him. More than 1,000 people have been killed in the past week in violence following the forcible break-up of two pro-Mursi camps in the capital. Authorities have arrested dozens of members of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, including its supreme guide Mohamed Badie — the first time the group’s chief has been arrested since 1981. Mursi himself is being held at a secret location and faces charges related to his 2011 escape from prison and inciting the death and torture of protesters. The juxtaposition between the fates of the two ousted presidents, Mubarak and Mursi, is notable, analyst Hisham Kassem said. Mubarak “committed numerous crimes… against the country, but managed to hide the evidence, particularly as all the state’s institutions were working for him at the time he was overthrown.” “The opposite is true for Mursi, who was thrown in prison while all the state’s apparatus were against him.” Arrests of Brotherhood leaders continued, with authorities detaining Ahmed Aref, a spokesman for the group, in Cairo. On Thursday, Human Rights Watch condemned the government for failing to protect churches, but also the Brotherhood for failing to halt incitement against Christians. Violence has also targeted police and soldiers, including two who were killed in a drive-by shooting near the Suez Canal town of Ismailia on Thursday. The unrest has prompted international criticism, and EU foreign ministers agreed at an emergency meeting on Wednesday to suspend the sale of arms and security equipment to Cairo in response to the mounting violence. They issued a statement calling recent security operations “disproportionate”, while also condemning “acts of terrorism” in the Sinai and the church attacks. But they expressed concern over the economic situation and said “assistance in the socio-economic sector and to civil society will continue”. The United States has also criticised the violence, as well as Badie’s arrest, and announced the cancellation of joint military exercises. But it has stopped short of halting its $1.3 billion annual defence aid package to Egypt, and denied reports it was withholding aid. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which backs the army-installed interim government, has said it would step in with other Arab nations to fill any funding gap if Washington halts aid. Meanwhile, a Hamas official said Egypt is set to reopen the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip daily from Saturday after closing it in the wake of last week’s bloodshed. Continue reading
4.2 kg opium seized from transit parcel
4.2 kg opium seized from transit parcel Ahmed Shaaban / 23 August 2013 The Dubai Customs recently foiled an attempt to smuggle 4.2kg of opium, worth over Dh50,000 in the black market now, at Dubai Cargo Village. The contraband, hidden in five small handbags shipped in a postal parcel, was seized in transit while heading from an Asian country to a Western one through Dubai in an operation codenamed ‘Flying Opium Bags’. Saeed Ahmed Al Tayer, Director of Air Customs Centres Management at Dubai Customs, said the parcel included personal items, such as small handbags, as per the customs declaration. The customs inspectors suspected the parcel’s contents during routine clearance procedures, and referred it to the X-ray machine for scanning. The scanned image showed that the five handbags were stuffed with drugs. The K9 dog squad was brought to the scene. The dogs checked the bags and reacted positively. The Customs Mobile Laboratory was also called to take a sample from the contraband for examination. It reported that the substance found was narcotic opium. “The seized opium and investigation report were referred to the Anti-Narcotic Department of Dubai Police for necessary legal action.” Al Tayer said the Dubai Customs spared no effort in supporting international legitimate trade and controlling transportation of internationally prohibited and restricted goods which deemed harmful to the health of people whether infiltrated into the local markets or intended to transport overseas via Dubai. “Medical reports show that opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy that contains up to 12 per cent morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade.” Earlier this year, Dubai Customs seized over 12kg of opium, worth Dh300,000 as per the black market price then, at Dubai Cargo Village. In February, March and October 2012, Dubai Customs thwarted three separate attempts to smuggle 22kg of opium, worth over Dh550,000, in handbag shipments at the Cargo Village. “The Dubai Customs foiled 55 bids to smuggle different kinds of narcotics in 2010. Those included four bids to smuggle 12kg of opium valued at over Dh300,000,” he said. ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
