Wednesday, April 25, 2007

False bomb threat causes stir at USJ campus

False bomb threat causes stir at USJ campus
By Iman Azzi
Daily Star staff


BEIRUT: An anonymous phone call initiated a state of alert at the St. Joseph University (USJ) campus in Mkalles on Tuesday but the bomb threat turned out to be false. "At 10:05 in the morning, we received a bomb alert for the Faculty of Science," a representative of USJ told The Daily Star, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We evacuated the Faculty of Science but it turned out to be a false alarm." "The threat came from an anonymous caller," the representative added. "We checked and took care of the situation. The students left after they heard the news but all other faculties held class." The Daily Star visited the campus but was denied access to the science building. Several students confirmed that the Lebanese Army had been on the scene with bomb-sniffing dogs.

"A bomb alert was called in and then the police and dogs arrived," Antoine, 18, a student at the Faculty of Engineering, told The Daily Star. "I'm not worried though. Campus is really normal today." On March 22, a small bomb was found by a janitor at the American University of Beirut and was defused by the army. Since February, unexploded ordnance and old arms have been discovered throughout the country.

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