Gunmen on Tuesday assassinated Lebanese Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel, an outspoken critic of Syria, plunging Lebanon deeper into a crisis over ties with its dominant neighbour.
 At least three gunmen rammed their car into Gemayel's vehicle near Beirut, then leapt out and riddled it with bullets, firing at Gemayel with silencer-equipped automatic weapons at point-blank range in a Christian neighbourhood, witnesses said. Ten bullet holes were seen around the window of the driver's seat of his grey car. The two front seats were soaked in blood. 'We believe the hand of Syria is all over the place' The son of assassinated former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri blamed Syria for the killing in the Sin el-Fil area, but Damascus piously condemned the murder.
| Who the hell wrote this? What'd they expect them to say? "We dunnit an' we're glad!"? |
The assassination is certain to heighten tensions in Lebanon amid a deep political crisis pitting the anti-Syrian majority against the pro-Damascus opposition led by Hezbollah, which is determined to topple what it sees as a pro-US government.
| It's a move in the game, just like killing Massoud was a move in Qaeda's game in September 2001. |
Gemayel, 34, was rushed to hospital, where he later died of his wounds. Hundreds of angry and weeping family members and supporters gathered at the hospital.
| I'm wondering if anyone named Gemayel has ever died in bed... |
"We believe the hand of Syria is all over the place," Saad al-Hariri, whose father Rafik was killed in a suicide bombing last year, said shortly after Gemayel was shot dead.
| Looking pretty obvious from here. Stupid, but pretty obvious... |
"Syria strongly condemns the killing," the official Syrian news agency SANA said. The Shi'a group Hezbollah also condemned the "low criminal act" and urged an investigation.
| Just not by anybody competent. |
Many ordinary Lebanese were shocked by the murder and feared the worst. "I'm just waiting for the next minister to be assassinated. This is definitely not the end," said Johnny Ghoossain, 25.
| The eventual Hezbollah coup is expected to be the end of it. |
The assassination came after a devastating July-August conflict in south Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, which accused the pro-US government of backing its opponents in order to weaken it as a political and military force. It also coincided with United Nations Security Council moves to create a tribunal to try those suspected of Hariri's assassination.
| ... which was the genesis of the war in July. |
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