Bomb attack on Syrian refugee centre in Lebanon wounds 3

TRIPOLI - Agence France-Presse

In this on Monday, Feb. 11, 2013 photo, Syrian refugees who fled their homes with their families due to fighting between rebels and government forces, stand outside their tent, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon. AP Photo

Unknown attackers lobbed a bomb at an Islamic aid centre which assists Syrian refugees in the northern Lebanon city of Tripoli, wounding three people, a security official told AFP on Monday.
 
The attack on the aid organisation, known to be hostile to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime and which hangs flags of the Syrian revolution on the walls of its headquarters, came late on Sunday, the official said.
 
"Unidentified men hurled at around 11:00 pm (2100 GMT) a bomb at the headquarters of an Islamic aid centre that assists Syrian refugees in Tripoli's district of Qubbe," the official said on condition of anonymity.
 
"The shrapnel from the explosion hurt three people." Lebanon has seen a spillover of violence from neighbouring Syria since a revolt against Assad morphed into an insurgency after Damascus launched a brutal crackdown against dissent.
 
Lebanon is sharply divided into pro- and anti-Damascus camps, with the majority of Tripoli's Sunnis supporting the anti-Assad revolt, while the city's Alawite community to which Syria's Assad belongs backs the regime.
 
More than 280,000 Syrians have fled the conflict in their country across the borders to Lebanon, the United Nations says. Most of them live in the north and east of Lebanon, in makeshift shelters, rented houses or in homes of extended family members.
 
Syria dominated Lebanon politically and militarily for 30 years until 2005.