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| Lebanon seizes explosives from pro-Syrian group |
| 2006-12-21 |
| Lebanese police seized large quantities of explosives, detonators and timers in the homes of members of a pro-Syrian group in north Lebanon on Thursday, security sources said. Police surrounded some of the Beirut offices of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) -- an opposition group which responded by accusing the authorities of harassment and warned against more raids. Seven SSNP supporters or activists were arrested in the northern Koura province, including a senior member. The SSNP said most of the weapons seized dated back to the 1980s -- the height of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. "The party calls for an immediate halt to raids and the pursuit of National Socialists," party leader Ali Qansou told a news conference. "The National Socialists' patience has limits." A police statement confirmed the seizure and some arrests but did not say to which group the detainees and the explosives belonged. "A force from the Internal Security Force raided these houses and found inside them a large quantity of explosives, electrical detonators and timers in addition to a large cache of weapons," the statement said. The SSNP was founded in 1932 and called for a greater Syrian state which would have included Lebanon. It is allied to the Hezbollah-led opposition, which is demanding veto power in Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet. |
| Posted by:.com |