Lebanon is braced for a bitter power struggle after the assassination of an anti-Syrian Christian cabinet minister which his allies blamed on Syria.
A Lebanese woman holds a picture of assassinated Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel near his coffin in a street in Bekfaya
Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel was gunned down yesterday as he drove in a Christian suburb of Beirut, becoming the sixth anti-Syria politician to be killed in nearly two years. A three-day official mourning period began this morning.
The assassination turned Lebanon's Independence Day today into a sombre occasion. All festivities, including a military parade, were cancelled.
Hours after Gemayel' murder, the UN Security Council approved plans for a special international court to try suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
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The action by the 15-nation council, in the form of a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, will enable the plans to be submitted to the Lebanese government for its formal approval.
Hariri's son Saad and his allies quickly accused Damascus of killing Gemayel in an attempt to derail the tribunal. Many Lebanese blame Syria for killing Hariri.
A UN investigation has implicated Lebanese and Syrian security officials in Hariri's murder. Damascus denies any links. It also strongly condemned Gemayel's killing.
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.
"We believe the hand of Syria is all over the place," Saad al-Hariri, whose father Rafik was killed in a suicide bombing, said shortly after Gemayel was shot dead.
Anti-Syrian Druze leader Walid Jumblatt openly accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regarding the Gemayel shooting. "Only the tribunal will deter the killer in Damascus. Bashar is scared. That is why he opted for killing to avoid punishment," he said.
Syria and Iran, key backers of Hizbullah, were quick to condemn the killing.
"This is a crime aimed at destabilising Lebanon . Syria is careful about preserving Lebanon 's security, unity and civil peace," the official Syrian news agency SANA said.
Syrian Information Minister Muhsen Bilal denied any Syrian link to the
murder. "Those who accuse Syria in this narrow and defeated manner do not have a grain of truth or credibility... How can they make an accusation at the very first minute?" he said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said: "No doubt this act has been carried out by Lebanon 's enemies ... that don't want Lebanon to become a symbol ... of the victory of resistance in the region."
Arab leaders called for calm, while steering carefully clear of blaming any particular side for the violence.
"The Lebanese have to unify their ranks at this phase and not allow the preachers of death, disunity and destruction to succeed in creating a split in the cohesion of the Lebanese people," Jordan's King Abdullah said.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said: "We call the Lebanese parties to engage in dialogue for the interest of Lebanon . There should not be any differences, in order not to lose Lebanon ."
Large demonstrations after Hariri's killing forced Syria to end 29 years of military presence in Lebanon in April 2005.
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.
US President George W. Bush led world leaders in condemning Gemayel's murder and he urged an investigation to "identify those people and those forces behind the killing".
Mr Bush stopped just short of assigning blame to Syria and Iran for the killing of Gemayel. He said the United States backed Lebanese efforts to "defend their democracy against attempts by Syria, Iran and allies to foment instability and violence in that important country."
Finland, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, urged all political factions in Lebanon to "refrain from activities that would further endanger the political stability ... (and) reiterates the EU's full support to the legitimate and democratically elected Lebanese government."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair also voiced support to Siniora, whose government has been shaken by the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel this summer and the resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers this month. "We need to do everything we can, particularly at this moment, to protect democracy in Lebanon and the premiership of Prime Minister Siniora," Mr Blair said.
Pierre Gemayel, elected to parliament in 2000 and in 2005, was a member of the Phalange Party founded by his grandfather. His uncle Bashir Gemayel was killed in September 1982 after he was elected president during Israel's invasion of Lebanon.
The Christian Phalange party controlled one of the largest militias fighting in the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war.