Lebanon Marks Independence Day as Country at Stake over Terrorism, Refugee Burden
Lebanon celebrated Independence Day on Friday amid the growing threat of terrorism, the widening gap between Lebanon's political parties and the huge burden of the Syrian refugees.
The country marked 70 years of independence with an official ceremony staged in downtown Beirut.
Streets leading to the area were cordoned off from the early hours of Friday for the ceremony which was attended by President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, PM-designate Tammam Salam, diplomats and other dignitaries.
Suleiman, Berri and Miqati later headed to Baabda palace where they received well-wishers.
This year's independence comes as the country is barely standing 2 ½ years into Syria's war.
A string of deadly bombings and sectarian gunbattles linked to Syria has left hundreds of casualties in several areas, mainly Hizbullah strongholds - Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa - and the northern city of Tripoli.
The latest bombings targeted the Iranian embassy in the Beirut neighborhood of Bir Hassan, a Hizbullah stronghold, on Tuesday. An al-Qaida-linked group claimed it carried out the twin suicide bombings, raising fears of Iraqi-style attacks in the country.
There has been no functioning government since Salam's appointment in April because of divisions between the March 8 and March 14 alliances over Syria.
The March 14 coalition has conditioned the formation of the cabinet on Hizbullah's withdrawal from Syria. The party's fighters have been openly backing Syrian President Bashar Assad against the rebels seeking to topple him.
Parliament has unilaterally extended its own mandate by 18 months by skipping the polls. The legislature is also failing to convene over the boycott of several blocs from the two rival camps.
The security and political crises have been topped with a huge economic burden caused by the Syrian refugees who are escaping the fighting in the neighboring country.
The Lebanese authorities have warned that the massive influx of refugees in the past week could no longer be resolved through humanitarian aid.
They called for a political or security solution to end the crisis.
Lebanon hosts more than 800,000 Syrians.
Lebanese Independence Day commemorates the country's liberation in 1943 after 23 years of governance by French Mandate that succeeded Ottoman rule.
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