Day of mourning in Lebanon after bombing
Friday, 15 June 2007
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jun 14 (AP): Crowds marched behind a somber funeral procession Thursday after a powerful car bombing killed a prominent anti-Syrian legislator and nine other people, dealing a new blow to the stability of this conflict-torn nation.
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora has called for an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers and the international community to assist in the investigation of Walid Eido's assassination Wednesday near a popular waterfront promenade in the Lebanese capital.
The bomb ripped through Eido's car as he drove from a seaside sports club, also killing his 35-year-old son, two bodyguards and six passers-by.
Businesses, schools and government offices were closed Thursday after the government declared a day of national mourning.
The bodies of Eido and his son were slowly being taken in ambulances from the American University Hospital in West Beirut to the Verdun neighbourhood where the slain politician lived.
Several hundred supporters gathered on the street for the funeral procession, carrying flags of the Hariri Future movement and shouting the Islamic cry "There is no God but Allah."
Wednesday's blast comes days after the government began putting together an international tribunal ordered by the United Nations to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut two years ago - a move strongly opposed by Syria and its allies in Lebanon.
Eido was a prominent supporter of the tribunal and a close friend of Hariri. He is the seventh anti-Syrian figure killed in Lebanon in the past two years, starting with the February 2005 death of Hariri in a massive Beirut suicide car bombing. Many Lebanese have accused Syria of being behind the slayings, a claim Damascus denies.
Lebanon's majority coalition blamed Syria for Wednesday's assassination.
"This crime is a clear message from the Syrian regime to Lebanon in response to the creation of the international tribunal," said a statement read by lawmaker Bassem Sabei.
Syria controlled Lebanon for 29 years until it was forced out after Hariri's assassination, and its Lebanese opponents believe it is seeking to regain domination by plunging the country into chaos.
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora has called for an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers and the international community to assist in the investigation of Walid Eido's assassination Wednesday near a popular waterfront promenade in the Lebanese capital.
The bomb ripped through Eido's car as he drove from a seaside sports club, also killing his 35-year-old son, two bodyguards and six passers-by.
Businesses, schools and government offices were closed Thursday after the government declared a day of national mourning.
The bodies of Eido and his son were slowly being taken in ambulances from the American University Hospital in West Beirut to the Verdun neighbourhood where the slain politician lived.
Several hundred supporters gathered on the street for the funeral procession, carrying flags of the Hariri Future movement and shouting the Islamic cry "There is no God but Allah."
Wednesday's blast comes days after the government began putting together an international tribunal ordered by the United Nations to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut two years ago - a move strongly opposed by Syria and its allies in Lebanon.
Eido was a prominent supporter of the tribunal and a close friend of Hariri. He is the seventh anti-Syrian figure killed in Lebanon in the past two years, starting with the February 2005 death of Hariri in a massive Beirut suicide car bombing. Many Lebanese have accused Syria of being behind the slayings, a claim Damascus denies.
Lebanon's majority coalition blamed Syria for Wednesday's assassination.
"This crime is a clear message from the Syrian regime to Lebanon in response to the creation of the international tribunal," said a statement read by lawmaker Bassem Sabei.
Syria controlled Lebanon for 29 years until it was forced out after Hariri's assassination, and its Lebanese opponents believe it is seeking to regain domination by plunging the country into chaos.