France condemns bomb attack in Lebanon on Tuesday

France strongly condemned on Tuesday a bomb attack in a suburb of Beirut earlier in the day, an attack that appears aimed at destabilising Lebanon which is living a particularly tense situation because of the war in Syria. The attack in the Bir Al Abed neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital appears to have wounded 15 people but there is also unconfirmed speculation about two deaths. The attack took place in a territory normally controlled by the Hezbollah faction, which has recently become involved in supporting the Syrian regime in that countrys civil war. Hezbollah fighters have entered Syria and are actively fighting alongside the forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad. "France reiterates its commitment to the stability of Lebanon and its refusal of terrorism," a Foreign Ministry statement said here. Paris called on all Lebanese "to avoid an escalation of violence" and urged them "to preserve national unity" in line with a process recently undertaken by President Michel Sleiman. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said his government wants "all light shone on these events" in Beirut and wants those responsible brought to justice. Speaking to the press, Lalliot said that it is "hard to imagine this (attack) is not linked with events in Syria, either directly or as a spin-off.