BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04/07/2008

Lukashenko Orders Probe of Minsk Blast That Wounded 40 People

By Sebastian Alison

July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko demanded a full investigation after a bomb exploded during a concert he attended in the capital Minsk last night.

``The president of the Republic of Belarus ordered an immediate explanation of all the circumstances of the explosion on the night of July 3-4 in Minsk during the gala concert `Minsk -- Hero City,''' Lukashenko's press service said in a statement on its Web site today.

``Alexander Lukashenko, who was attending the concert, went a few minutes after the event to where doctors were treating the victims, and then went to the site of the explosion,'' the statement said. ``The head of state has taken the investigation under his personal control.''

The Web site showed a photograph of police and journalists crowding around the victims in a central Minsk square. Russian news service Interfax reported that the blast injured about 40 people.

Belarusian Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov told journalists today that a second explosive device was found yesterday in Minsk, Interfax reported.

Source:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aFoQTGzXYt7c&refer=europe

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