Lebanese protesters try to storm palace
BEIRUT -- The funeral for Lebanon's slain intelligence chief descended into chaos yesterday as soldiers fired tear gas at protesters who tried to storm the government palace, directing their rage at a leadership they consider puppets of a murderous Syrian regime.
The assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan in a car bomb Friday threatens to shatter the fragile political balance in Lebanon, plagued by decades of strife, much of it linked to political and military domination by Damascus. He was a powerful Sunni opponent of Syria in Lebanon.
"The Sunni blood is boiling!" the crowd chanted as hundreds clashed with security forces. More than 100 protesters broke through a police cordon of concertina wire and metal gates to within 50 yards of the entrance to the palace.
Authorities responded with tear gas and several officers fired machine guns and rifles in the air. The roar of automatic gunfire sent the protesters scattering for cover.
It wasn't known whether the guards fired live bullets or blanks, but no protesters were reported injured by gunfire. Several were overcome by tear gas, and the government's media office said 15 guards were injured.
The killing of al-Hassan has laid bare some of Lebanon's most intractable issues: the country's dark history of sectarian divisions, its links to the powerful regime in Damascus and the role of Hezbollah, the Shia militant group that dominates Lebanon's government and is Syria's closest ally.
Al-Hassan, 47, headed an investigation over the summer that led to the arrest of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, one of Syria's most loyal allies in Lebanon. He also led the inquiry that implicated Syria and Hezbollah in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005.
Al-Hassan was buried near Hariri in Beirut's central Martyrs Square.
There were significant parallels between Hariri and al-Hassan -- both powerful Sunni figures struck down by car bombs at a time when they were seen to be opposing Syria. Syria denies any role in either killing.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
