BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati has called for unity in the country after Friday’s twin car bomb attacks in the northern city of Tripoli. The devastation killed at least 47 people and has heightened fears the country could descend into sectarian violence.

He said, "We are pretty sure that the incidents in Beirut’s southern suburb and Tripoli yesterday were by the same hands. We are not calling for reconciliation, nor are we accusing each other of planting bombs. What we need to do is unite in order to fill any void that might come about. I am sure that there are some people who are benefiting from the incidents in Lebanon and we as Lebanese should reconcile and be united. As I have said many times, the entire Arab world is passing through a hurricane and its implications for Lebanon will be so dangerous."

The coordinated explosions struck at midday outside the Taqwa and Salam mosques, which are full of worshippers at that time on the Muslim day of prayer. Lebanese police say more than 500 were also wounded, and some 300 people are still in the hospital, 65 of them in a critical condition.

Lebanese security forces have arrested a suspect in connection with the bombings. The National News Agency has identified the suspect as Sheik Ahmad al-Ghareeb. It says he has ties to a Sunni organization that enjoys good relations with Lebanon’s powerful Shiite Hezbollah militant group, and appears in surveillance video at the site of one of the explosions.

Many fear the conflict in Tripoli is related to the ongoing Syrian crisis, as the Sunnis in the Lebanese city support the rebellion against Syrian President Bashar Assad who is Alawite.

(Source: CNTV.cn)