WASHINGTON - The United States said Saturday it strongly condemns the bombing which took place in Beirut while urging Lebanese authorities to provide security for the population.
"We call on the Lebanese authorities to exercise their responsibility to the Lebanese people to provide for their security and to identify and bring to justice those responsible for these acts," Deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said in a statement.
The statement noted that this is the third bombing in the Lebanese capital since March 19.
A huge car-bomb explosion rocked an industrial area in a Christian district in east Beirut earlier Saturday, killing two people.
A police officer said the mid-evening blast was caused by a car bomb near the district of Dekouaneh and set several buildings ablaze.
Ereli said the Lebanese people have the right to determine their own political future in a climate free of fear and intimidation in an election planned for May.
"This cannot happen while Syrian military and intelligence forces remain in Lebanon, where they are a source of instability," the deputy spokesman said. "Syria must withdraw completely and immediately from Lebanon, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559."
03/27/2005 00:41 GMT