Islamists mounting bomb attacks on Christians in South Lebanon
NICOSIA — Lebanon has ordered its security forces to prepare for a
crackdown against Islamist insurgents who have targeted the Christian
community in the south.
Officials said the government of Prime Minister Said Hariri has ordered
the military and security forces to conduct a sweep through the Sidon
region. They said Christians around the southern port city have come under
steady attack from Islamists believed aligned with Al Qaida.
Sidon has a Palestinian refugee camp of Ein Hilwe, said to
include a significant presence of Al Qaida supporters. Over the last two
years, several bombings around Sidon have been traced to Ein Hilwe.
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The Christian minority has been alarmed by the spate of recent attacks.
In late June, a bomb was detonated in the Bekaa Valley town of Zahle during
the visit by Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, a critic of
the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah. The visit was the first by a Maronite
patriarch to the Bekaa since 1938.
"The Internal Security Forces, by taking all measures, will do what is
necessary to reassure citizens," Internal Security Forces commander Maj.
Gen. Ashraf Rifi said.
In mid-June Christians in the Sidon area found leaflets tacked to their
homes that warned them to leave immediately. So far, no group has taken
responsibility.
"All those who operate in the dark will not succeed because Lebanon has
moved past this stage," Lebanese parliamentarian Amr Khoury said.