Mourners Pay Tribute to Lebanon Christian Leader

A large crowd gathered to mourn Lebanese Christian leader, Pierre Gemayel, Wednesday as supporters readied themselves for a huge show of force at the dead government minister's funeral, which takes place on Thursday in Beirut.

|PIC1|The anti-Syrian Gemayel, one of the most powerful Christian leaders in the region, was laid to rest following his assassination.

It is feared, however, that if a strong turnout is seen on Thursday the political crisis could deepen between anti-Syrian forces who back the Lebanese government and pro-Syrian groups led by the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, which wants to topple the Western-backed prime minister, Fuad Saniora.

Hezbollah had already threatened to hold mass protests against the government just days before the assassination on Tuesday.

However, in light of the current developments Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it would not make any drastic moves in the next few days to allow emotions to calm

Some, though, are still fearful that violence may break out in the highly tense atmosphere.

Tony Gemayel is a 35-year-old relative who will participate in mourning ceremonies held by the Maronite Christian family in their ancestral hometown of Bikfaya, in the mountains above Beirut. He said, "This is scary. If things continue this way, who knows where we are heading."

Pierre Gemayel was killed after two cars blocked his vehicle at an intersection in a Beirut suburb as he left a church. Assassins shot him multiple times through a side window. The incident makes Gemayel the fifth anti-Syrian leader killed in Lebanon in two years.

Following Tuesday's tragedy, Pierre Gemayel's father Amin, who is a former president, joined the Maronite Church in quickly urging calm, in the hope to avert an explosion of violence in the region amid the deepening political crisis.

Roman Catholic head, Pope Benedict XVI said on Wednesday: "In the face of the dark forces that try to destroy the country, I call on all Lebanese not to be overwhelmed by hatred, but to strengthen national unity, justice and reconciliation."

Independence Day celebrations across Lebanon were cancelled on Wednesday, and in the Christian hubs in the north and northeast of Beirut, schools and shops were closed.

Gemayel's coffin, draped in the flag of his Phalange Party, was driven from Beirut up to the town in Mount Lebanon's pine woods.

Supporters were seen jolting the coffin in a traditional expression of extreme anguish as it passed through hundreds of weeping mourners, AP has reported. Women on apartment balconies showered rice on the coffin as it made its way.

In the Gemayel family home, nuns and priests were led in prayer by a bishop relative around the closed coffin as relatives and thousands of villagers and supporters walked past and paid condolences to his father.

In the Beirut suburb where he was murdered, hundreds of supporters turned out Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil around the bullet-filled vehicle, which was guarded by troops.

The head of the Maronite church expressed fears of more killings of Cabinet members aimed at undermining and weakening the government, to prevent it from approving the Hariri tribunal, which the UN Security Council approved hours after Gemayel's slaying.