Satellite images point to airstrike destruction of Sudanese arms factory

Sixteen-meter craters at the site of Wednesday’s Sudanese weapons factory explosion point to a surgical airstrike, a US-based monitoring group said. Earlier, Khartoum accused Tel Aviv of destroying the plant, reserving the right to retaliate.

­The shots released by the Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) to the Associated Press support the Sudanese government accusation that Israel was behind the bombing of the Yarmouk military complex in which two people have been killed.

Experts consulted by the SSP have confirmed air bombardment of the site which destroyed the complex.

Military specialists found the site, “consistent with large impact craters created by air-delivered munitions,” Satellite Sentinel Project spokesman Jonathan Hutson told the SW.

The group also said that the images indicate that the explosion “destroyed two buildings and heavily damaged at least 21 others,” adding that there was no sign of fire damage at the fuel depot inside the military complex.

The observed craters were centred in the area of the complex where some 40 shipment containers had been stacked, the SSP further noted.

“If the explosions resulted from a rocket or missile attack against material stored in the shipping containers, then it was an effective surgical strike that totally destroyed any container” that was at the location, the project said.

SSP did not comment on the allegations of Israeli involvement in the destruction of the munitions plant. 

Initial official reports from the accident suggested an accidental explosion in a storage room, but Sudan later blamed Israel for launching the attack. “We believe that Israel is behind it,” said Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman, adding that the planes had approached from the east.

Tel Aviv has so far neither confirmed nor denied striking the site, but has accused Sudan of being a key transit partner in supplying Hamas and Hezbollah with weapons.

Israeli officials suggest that arms smuggled to Gaza and Lebanon originate in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas then get to Sudan before crossing Sinai desert into Gaza through underground.

The explosion on October 23 caused the ammunition to explode for hours, threatening homes in the neighborhood adjacent to the factory and causing chaos among residents. Besides the two killed many people suffered from smoke inhalation.

Sudan accuses Israel of bombing weapons factory, threatens to retaliate

Israel was behind the bombing of a military factory that killed two people, claims Sudanese Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman. Now, the Arab North African state is threatening to respond in kind.

"We think Israel did the bombing," Osman told a news conference, adding that Sudan reserves “the right to react at a place and time we choose." He also told reporters that his government may take the issue up with the United Nations Security Council.

The minister said four planes were involved in the attack at the Yarmouk military manufacturing facility in south Khartoum, and claimed evidence recovered at the scene points to Israel’s involvement.

The Yarmouk complex was built in 1996, and is one of two known state-owned weapons manufacturing facilities in the Sudanese capital.

Residents from the area told local newspapers that they saw planes flying overhead just before the explosion. The blast blew roofs off houses, shattered windows and set nearby trees ablaze. Several people suffered from smoke exposure.

Thick smoke blackened the sky over the complex, and firefighters fought the blaze for hours.

It's not the first time Sudanese officials have blamed such an incident on Israel.

One person was killed when a car blew up on the country's Red Sea coast in May, about a year after Sudan blamed Israel for an air strike on a vehicle in the same area. Witnesses to the May incident said they heard a big blast that set the car ablaze and left two holes in the ground.

In January 2009, foreign aircraft struck a truck convoy reportedly laden with weapons in the country’s east, killing dozens. The shipment was rumored to be headed for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, though Sudanese parliamentarians denied the claims.

Osman told the news conference that his country was certain the previous attacks were ordered by the Israeli government. “The main purpose is to frustrate our military capabilities and stop any development there and ultimately weaken our national sovereignty,” he said.

Israel, as is its policy, has neither admitted nor denied carrying out the attack.

Khartoum is seeking the removal of United States sanctions imposed in 1997 over support for international terrorism, its human rights record and other concerns.

In 1998, US cruise missiles bombed a Khartoum pharmaceutical factory suspected of links to al-Qaeda in the wake of the terrorist group's bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people.

‘Day of Rage’: Lebanon prepares to bury slain security chief

Lebanon’s anti-Syrian opposition has called for a “Day of Rage” to coincide with the funeral of slain security chief Wissam al-Hasan. Friday’s deadly bombing and assassination risks putting Beirut on a collision course with Damascus.

Hundreds of protesters in downtown Beirut rallied outside the office of Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday as calls for his resignation continue unabated over his alleged role in the high-profile assassination. Thousands more had gathered on Martyrs Square in the heart of the capital.

PM Najib Mikati, who enjoys support from Hezbollah, Damascus and Iran, offered to step down to placate those who accused him of playing a role in Friday’s deadly car bombing. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman refused his resignation.

The  March 14 coalition has also called for a “Day of Rage” in the Lebanese capital on Sunday as with opposition leaders accusing Syria of being behind the attack.

“Let tomorrow be … a day of anger in the face of the butcher Bashar Assad and the black regime that rules Syria with the power of fire and destruction and wants to export blood and devastation to our country Lebanon,” the Lebanese Daily Star cites MP Nuhad Mashnouq, an outspoken critic of Assad, as saying.

March 14 said that the protesters would call on the Arab League and the UN Security Council to take the appropriate measures to preserve Lebanon’s stability.

“Such measures should include deploying the international troops United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon alongside the Lebanese-Syrian borders,” Mashnouq said.

Hassan will be interned near the tomb of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri on Martyrs Square, Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi told al-Mustaqbal television.

Hariri’s 2005 assassination sparked the 2005 Cedar Revolution which resulted in the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. The March 14 coalition takes its name from the date the revolution kicked off.

The funeral will be held at the al-Amine mosque in downtown Beirut, near the mausoleum, and will follow afternoon prayers.

Rafiq’s son and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri insisted “everyone of you is personally invited to attend the funeral on Sunday,” but said that the roads should remain clear so that access to Marty’s Square will not be blocked.

MP Sami Gemayel, from the Christian Phalange Party, also called on supporters to come out in masse to Sunday’s funeral. Gemayel accused the Syrian government of dragging Lebanon into a direct confrontation.

“We tried to disassociate our nation from the conflict in Syria, but the regime is challenging the Lebanese people once again by assassinating Hassan,” the MP said.

Gemayel drew a line in the sand, saying Lebanese officials must decide if they are loyal to their own country or Syria.

“It's a battle between Lebanon and a foreign country that is violating its sovereignty and unity,” he added.

Gemayel also said the March 14 coalition should once again become a resistance movement that can safeguard both the Lebanese people and their state.

“We will continue our struggle until we form a cabinet that is capable of protecting the Lebanese, the independence of the country and a one that can order the army to deploy along the Lebanese-Syrian border,” continued.

The assassination is as a major blow the March 14 coalition, to which Hassan, a Sunni Muslim, was closely allied.

Hassan was also a close ally of former PM Saad Hariri, who fled Lebanon in April 2011 after his government collapsed in January of that year amid fears he would be assassinated.

Hezbollah recently accused Hariri and his Future Movement of supporting the Syrian opposition.

“I say to the Future Movement and to Saad Hariri: have mercy on Lebanon and its people, have mercy on Syria and its people and stop funding and arming the [Syrian] opposition,” the National News Agency quoted Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem as saying last Saturday.

“[Stop] managing armed groups in Turkey and involving Lebanon in the details of the Syrian crisis. [Stop] sheltering gunmen in Lebanon and smuggling weapons from Lebanon to Syria,” Qassem continued.

Hezbollah and the Future Movement have routinely accused each other of meddling in the Syrian conflict.

Hassan died when an explosive-laden car detonated in Ashrafiyeh district of Beirut, a majority Christian neighborhood of the Lebanese capital. Seven others were killed in the blast, at least were injured, and surrounding buildings were seriously damaged.

It was the first car bombing in Lebanon in four years, when the country’s top anti-terrorism investigator was killed along with three others.

The attack sparked riots and protests which continued into Saturday, as thousands of people across Lebanon demonstrated against the bombing in Beirut.

The UN has condemned the attack calling for a thorough investigation to find the perpetrators, while the US called the blast a“terrorist attack.”

Syria also condemned the deadly blast.

Lebanon on a knife-edge: Anti-Syrian tensions rising

Tensions run high in Lebanon as the government declared an emergency meeting following a bomb attack that killed a top security official. Clashes and protests have been reported throughout the country amid opposition calls for the PM to resign.

Riots and protests continued into Saturday as thousands of people across Lebanon voiced their ire at the car bomb blast in Beirut on Friday that eight and wounded over 100.

Enraged citizens blocked roads with burning tires as a sign of their protest, while clashes in the city of Tripoli close to the southern Syrian border fueled fears the Syrian conflict is spilling over across the border.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati offered to step down amidst the fallout of Friday’s deadly attack, but President Michel Suleiman refused his resignation.

“He asked that I stay in place because it is not a personal issue but one of the national interest,” Mikati said.

Lebanon’s political opposition bloc, the March 14 Alliance, continue to hold the pro-Syrian government and its prime minister responsible for the Friday’s attack, which killed intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan.

The secretary-general of Lebanese opposition group Future Movement, Ahmad Hariri, said that the attack had been masterminded by embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Hariri also condemned Lebanon’s current PM Najib Mikati to resign immediately, saying that “he is personally responsible for the blood of General Wissam al-Hassan and the innocent.”

“We accuse Bashar al-Assad of the assassination of Wissam al-Hassan, the guarantor of the security of the Lebanese,” Hariri told a Lebanese TV station.

Mitkin joined the chorus of those linking Friday’s bombing to the civil war in neighboring Syria despite the accusations lobbed at him. The PM said on Saturday the assassination of police Hassan was connected to his role in the August arrest of former minister Michel Samaha. Samaha had allegedly conspired to set off explosives all throughout Lebanon in a bid to destabilize the country. He was often accused of being “Syria’s man in Lebanon,” and was viewed as untouchable due to his connections in Damascus.

Former Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud told al-Jazeera that it was too early to ascertain who was behind the bombing.

"We have no indication whatsoever [of who is behind this]. We know this is a strong and sad message, and we know this could destabilize the whole country," said Baroud.

The attack has come at a time of strong antagonism between pro-Syrian regime groups and anti-Assad factions in Lebanon. Many fear that the conflict in Syria will exacerbate sectarian divisions in neighboring Lebanon.

Rifts are growing steadily wider in Lebanese society as the countries Sunni Muslims get behind the rebels and the Shiites offer their support to President Assad.

The security official who was assassinated was a Sunni Muslim who opposed Assad and the regime’s strongest ally in Lebanon, the Shiite group Hezbollah.

The blast struck the Ashrafiyeh district of Beirut, a majority Christian neighborhood of the Lebanese capital. An explosives-laden car was detonated in a grounded street at rush hour, injuring over 100 people and decimating surrounding buildings.

It was the first car bombing in Lebanon since four years ago, when Lebanon’s top anti-terrorism investigator was killed along with three others.

The UN has condemned the attack calling for a thorough investigation to find the perpetrators, while the US called the blast a “terrorist attack.”

4 dead, 14 injured after twin blasts in Damascus rock army HQ

Four security guards were killed and 14 others wounded after two large explosions shook the Syrian capital of Damascus. The free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the blasts, which gutted the army command buildings in the heart of the city.

Security personal and civilians were among those wounded in the attack.

Syrian State TV alleges suicide bombers in explosive-laden vehicles carried out the attacks on the military command center in Umayad Square, though that information has not been independently verified. The bombings occurred around 7:00am local time (4:00 GMT).

The explosion sparked a fire near the Ministry of Defense building. The Syrian Army Headquarters was also one of the targets of the attack, reports suggested.

Violent clashes reportedly erupted inside the Army Headquarters building, leaving deaths on both sides, AFP reported, quoting human rights activists. On Twitter, witnesses wrote of hearing heavy gunfire near the site of the blasts.

Hours after the attack the area close by is reportedly still cordoned off.

The bombings caused only “material damage,” and no military leaders were killed, the Syrian Information Minister said.The explosive device may have been planted inside the military complex, the minister added.

The blasts came one day after multiple explosions rocked Damascus, wounding several people.

On Tuesday, two coordinated bombings involving seven devices went off at a school used as a meeting place for militia members and pro-government forces.

Patrick Henningsen a geopolitical analyst and UK columnist told SW that the rebels in Syria freely admit to causing such destruction through what is essentially a terrorist act because they have the support of the western powers.

“They can do that because they have the backing of the US, the Foreign Office in Britain, France, Israel and all of the Gulf States who seem to have some sort of international mandate in the international community. What you’ve got also here is the propaganda war has taken an ugly turn, and I believe that the recent shooting of the Press TV bureau correspondent was a targeted assassination because he was working for an Iranian state broadcaster,” he said.

Syrian state television reported seven people injured in the bombings, while a conflicting account suggested three were injured. No deaths were confirmed.

More than 20,000 people were killed in the ongoing conflict in Syria that began in March 2011, the UN reported.