After comms blasts, Lebanese fear bombs in their pockets
The explosion of
thousands of Hezbollah's mobile communication devices has spread fear across
Lebanon, leaving people terrified they might be carrying bombs in their
pockets.
At least 37 people were
killed and more than 3,000 wounded when first pagers, then walkie-talkies used
by Hezbollah members exploded in two waves of attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel carried out the attack.
False rumours have
spread of other types of mobile phones and even appliances blowing up since the
attack.
Mustafa Jemaa said he
had removed some stock from his electronics shop in the southern city of Sidon.
"We had some
devices here that we believed were 100% safe, but out of caution, we removed
them ... because we got worried," he said.
The Lebanese army on
Thursday called on citizens to report any sightings of suspicious objects,
adding that it had been conducting controlled explosions of pagers and other
devices thought to be rigged.
Lebanese civil aviation
authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers being taken on flights
or shipped by air, the National News Agency reported.
Those killed or wounded
in Tuesday's blasts included Hezbollah fighters, medics and administrative
staff. At least two of Tuesday's dead were children, killed when pagers
belonging to their fathers blew up.
"Of course we're
scared, my children, my siblings' children, all of us. Who can feel safe in
this situation?" said Mustafa Sibai, a Beirut resident.
"When I heard
about what happened yesterday, I left my phone on my motorcycle and walked
away," he said.
Ziad Makari,
information minister in Lebanon's caretaker government, said panic was to be
expected, noting that the attack was "a new type of crime to the
Lebanese" and that it had struck people at home, at work and during their
daily lives.
But he added that
"there are many rumours - an intercom blew up, a solar power (system) blew
up, a television blew up, a smart phone blew up".
"There are a lot
of lies ... a lot of fake news and this doesn't help at all," he said.
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