Al-Rahi Condemns Hasan Assassination, Urges Lebanese 'to Unite against Evil'

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi condemned on Saturday the Ashrafiyeh bombing in Beirut on Friday and the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Wissam al-Hasan, lamenting the fact that it came shortly after Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Lebanon in September.

He said in a statement: “We strongly condemn these criminal acts that remind us of days that we thought we had overcome.”

“We call on all the Lebanese to rise above their wounds and units against the forces of evil that want to create strife among us,” he said from Rome where he is taking part in a bishops synod.

“We must unite in order to preserve Lebanon as an example of mutual coexistence,” continued the patriarch.

“In the name of all bishops and the Maronite church, we present our warmest condolences to the families of the martyrs,” he added.

“We hope their sacrifices will lead to peace in Lebanon,” stressed al-Rahi.

Hasan was killed on Friday in a car bomb in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.

Conflicting reports emerged over the number of dead in the blast with some sides putting the figure at three and others at eight.

At least a hundred people were wounded in the explosion.