BEIRUT, 24 March 2005 — A bomb yesterday killed three people in a Christian town north of Beirut, the second attack in an anti-Syrian stronghold in five days.
Meanwhile, the politically sensitive inquiry into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri got delayed yesterday when its chief asked to step down.
The blast in the Alta Vista shopping center in Kaslik raised fears that agitators opposed to Syria’s withdrawal were fomenting trouble to prove a need for the Syrian Army in Lebanon.
Investigating Magistrate Michel Abou Arraj has asked the Supreme Judicial Council to relieve him of conducting the investigation into the killing of Hariri, Justice Ministry officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Abu Arraj had said he had too much work to do in criminal courts, the officials said.
Justice Minister Adnan Addoum said he would immediately nominate a new magistrate to the council, which is due to meet today.
Addoum said Abu Arraj was bowing out as he was exhausted and because of the “atmosphere of skepticism surrounding the investigation.”
The magistrate’s departure will delay an investigation that is at the core of the political turmoil in Lebanon. The government fell last month during a parliamentary debate on the assassination as 25,000 demonstrators called for an international inquiry. The opposition has refused to join a new Cabinet until the prime minister designate agrees to hold an international probe.
The opposition does not trust the pro-Syrian government’s ability to conduct a thorough and impartial probe. Opposition leaders have accused the government and Syria of playing a role in the assassination — a charge both governments have denied.
The Lebanese government has rejected calls for an international investigation, but it cooperated with a UN team of investigators that visited Lebanon.
A Lebanese newspaper owned by Hariri’s family reported this week that the UN investigators found the authorities had prematurely removed the vehicles of Hariri’s motorcade from the scene of the blast, and had cleared the site before sufficient forensic evidence had been collected.
The explosion just after midnight at the shopping center in Kaslik, Jounieh, about 16 kilometers north of Beirut, is reported to have killed a Sri Lankan, an Indian and a third person from the Indian Subcontinent. Police said they were believed to be workers at the center.
The bomb wounded four other people, who were treated in hospital.
The explosion shattered windows and devastated the displays of merchandise in the center, which is known for posh boutiques.
Shopowners collected goods from their stores yesterday and local residents swept up the glass on the pavements.
Later yesterday, some 30 people — municipal officials and residents — unfurled a huge national flag at the center and sang the national anthem, “All for the Nation.”
The 20 kilogram bomb is thought to have been placed in a leather bag at the building’s back entrance, said a Lebanese security official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. A police officer received cuts from falling debris as he was inspecting the damage in the shopping center.
— With input from agencies
