A deadly car bomb blast which rocked a main square in Beirut on Friday brought back dark memories of Lebanon's violent past and the civil war which tore the country apart. "We've seen this all before, we've grown up with it," said 34-year-old Bassam, who works in the Ashrafieh neighborhood where the bomb struck.

The blast, which killed at least three people and wounded dozens of others, went off 200 meters from the headquarters of a Christian party, the Kataeb, which opposes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "Whoever was behind the bombing was targeting politicians, but the ones who died are innocent civilians," Bassam told AFP. "The explosion was a real shock to us and proof that the lives of Lebanese are worthless." [Link]