Introduction to the evening news 19-10-2012

The Ashrafieh explosion and the assassination of Major General Wissam Hassan put into question Lebanon's fate.          

The explosion did not only hit Beirut, it also rocked the Lebanese state's prestige since Major Hassan was a top security official. It also shook the grounds of the March 14 bloc as Hassan was one of its most reliable security supporters.           

Recently, Major Hassan uncovered an explosion plot when Former Minister Michel Samaha was arrested for transferring explosions to Lebanon from Syria. Circulating information also reported that Syrian presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban and Syrian army Major General Ali Mamlouk are involved in the case.           

Ironically, Major Hassan was assassinated a few meters away from Samaha's home in Ashrafieh where the explosions that led to Samaha's arrest were confiscated.          

In the details, a car bomb exploded when Major Hassan's vehicle was passing in an Achrafieh residential street.          

This assassination scenario rings similar to several others which caused the death of Information Branch Major Wissam Eid, MPs Gebran Tueni, Walid Eido and Antoine Ghanem, as well as Army Major General Francois El Hajj.           

This incident raises several questions:           

Did the Syrian crisis finally reach Lebanon?           

Will it cause a national conflict?           

What will the cabinet do during its extraordinary session tomorrow?           

Will it affect Former PM Saad Hariri's decision in coming back to Lebanon?           

What will the reaction of the Lebanese people be?           

All these questions will be answered within the upcoming days.           

But for now, a cloud of ambiguity surrounds Lebanon and Ashrafieh.


For the full LBCI introduction, please click on the VIDEO above.