Christian Leader in Lebanon Assassinated

Pierre Gemayel, one of the leading anti-Syrian Lebanese ministers, who is also a leader from the Maronite Christian Church, has been killed in Beirut, Tuesday 21st November 2006.

|PIC1|Gemayel was shot down in a Christian suburb and rushed to hospital, but later died from his injury. The death signals a political crisis in Lebanon, following the resignation of six pro-Syrian cabinet members recently.

Gunmen opened fire on Gemayel's convoy as it travelled through the Sin el-Fil neighbourhood, security sources reported to Reuters. Also TV images have shown two cars filled with bullet holes.

Backers of Gemayel quickly gathered at the hospital, but the tragic news was announced later by Saad Hariri, the son of the country's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was himself killed last year in a huge blast.

The UN recently implicated Syria in Rafik Hariri's death, although Syria has denied involvement. But now Saad Hariri, who is also the leader of the anti-Syrian coalition, the majority group within parliament, has now also accused Syria of being behind the latest killing.

He told CNN, "The Cedar Revolution is under attack...Today one of our main believers in a free democratic Lebanon has been killed. We believe the hand of Syria is all over [this]."

However, Syria condemned Gemayel's assassination as a "despicable crime" and told that "Syria strongly condemns the killing".

Western nations were also very quick to criticise Gemayel's murder. UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said, "Clearly we condemn it. We are dismayed. There are enough problems in Lebanon already."

US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told, "We are shocked by this assassination. We believe it is the responsibility of all countries to support the [Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad] Siniora government."