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Lebanon's leaders call for unity after bomb kills politician who helped reconcile rival groups

By SAM F. GHATTAS | Associated Press Writer

11:38 AM EDT, September 11, 2008

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) _ Lebanese leaders urged for calm on Thursday after the country's first political assassination in months threatened efforts to reconcile its divided factions.

The killing of Druse Sheik Saleh Aridi, a senior member of the Lebanese Democratic Party, came less than a week before planned reconciliation talks among rival Lebanese factions.

It was the first such assassination since an Arab-brokered agreement was reached after sectarian fighting in May involving Shiite Hezbollah militants and pro-government Sunni and Druse factions. That agreement led to the election of a new president and the formation of a national unity Cabinet.

Aridi died late Wednesday in his village of Baissour in the hills east of Beirut, after a bomb planted under his car was detonated by remote control as he drove away from his home, police said. Six other people were injured.

The attack was thought by politicians to be an effort to rekindle violence between two main Druse factions — the Lebanese Democratic Party led by Talal Arslan and the Progressive Socialist Party of Walid Jumblatt.

The Druse are a small and secretive offshoot of Islam with communities in Lebanon, Syria and Israel. They are one of the historic founders of Lebanon.

The two Druse factions are also on opposite sides over Syria, but have grown close in recent months, mostly with mediation by Aridi.

The perpetrators were targeting "unity and coexistence" among the Druse and Lebanon, Arslan said after rushing back from a trip abroad Thursday.

Jumblatt went to the village after the explosion to express solidarity.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora contacted Druse leaders and joined their call for calm.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States was "deeply concerned" about the bombing and its support of the Lebanese government was "unwavering."

Aridi was an unusual target as he and his party were allied with Syria, which has been blamed for most past bombings and killing in Lebanon.

Syria condemned the attack.