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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanon mourns the innocent martyrs amidst calls for calm |
| 2007-04-28 |
| Lebanese mourners held a funeral on Friday for the two youths slain this week in an attack linked to sectarian tensions but leaders called for calm and said their deaths should not be politicized. The bodies of Ziad Qabalan, 25, and Ziad Ghandour, 12, who were abducted earlier this week, were found on Thursday in a field. Qabalan had been a member of the pro-government Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) along with Ghandour's father, which is headed by Druze leader MP Walid Jumblatt. The PSP transported the coffins of the 2 slain youths from al-Maqasid hospital to their homes in Wata el Musaitbeh . Jumblatt led the funeral proceedings along with several leaders from the March 14, anti-Syrian alliance amidst heavy security. Security sources said at least one suspect had been detained and others were being sought in the killing. They said the two youths had been killed by several bullets to the head and body. Their killings were believed to be a revenge attack for the slaying of a Shi'ite Muslim activist in January clashes between supporters of the government, which has Sunni backing, and the opposition, which includes Lebanon's main Shi'ite groups. Rival leaders have condemned the killings and appealed for calm. Druze PSP leader Walid Jumblatt said official investigations must take their course and that the killings should not be politicized. He called on his followers to exercise maximum restraint and to trust the state for finding the killers and bringing them to justice. Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, a powerful faction within the opposition, called on Lebanon's security forces and judiciary to bring the killers to justice. |
| Posted by:Fred |