Christians Under Attack

wounding 30 as the country prepared to commemorate the second anniversary of Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

The first blast struck a packed public bus travelling through the mountain village of Ein Alak some 15 miles north of Beirut shortly after 9am.

Just a few minutes later, as locals rushed to help the injured, a stronger explosion tore the roof off a minibus some 50 metres away, littering the rain-soaked road with bloody debris.

Lebanon’s rival leaders were united in their condemnation of the attacks, the latest in a string of unclaimed explosions and assassination attempts since the massive 2005 suicide truck bomb that killed Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, and 22 others.

The government had declared a national holiday tomorrow to mark the event with a massive rally in central Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square beside Rafik Hariri’s tomb.

But Hizbollah-led protestors have been camped out on Martyrs’ Square since December 1, demanding the resignation of a government they claim is corrupt and unrepresentative.

The square has been dissected by a razor-wire fence in an effort to avert a repetition of clashes between rival factions that left several dead last month.

“The only way to protect the Lebanese people is the establishment of the international tribunal into the assassination of Rafik Hariri,” Saad Hariri told The Daily Telegraph.

“This is a necessity not just to protect the politicians but also to protect the civilians from more than 30 years of terrorism.”

Lebanon was under Syrian occupation for nearly 30 years until Damascus pulled outs its troops shortly after the Hariri killing, in which senior Syrian officials have been implicated although Damascus denies any involvement.

Many Lebanese allege Syrian involvement in some 15 attacks on anti-Syrian public figures in the past two years.

“These killings will continue as long as people feel they can perpetrate them with impunity,” said Mr Hariri.

Hizbollah has so far refused to endorse the Hariri tribunal, arguing that further discussions need to be held to ensure it is not used as a political tool.

Government supporters argue the ongoing protests are merely an attempted coup instigated by Hizbollah's backers in Syria aimed at torpedoing the tribunal.

POSTED BY/http://www.telegraph.co.uk