Beirut Readies For Wissam al-Hassan Funeral

Lebanese opposition leader Saad Hariri has called on all citizens to attend a funeral for security chief Wissam al-Hassan, who was killed by a car bomb.

“Every one of you is personally invited,” said Mr Hariri, a former PM and leading anti-Syrian politician.

Mr Hariri has blamed Damascus for Friday’s bomb attack, which killed three people and wounded dozens.

There has been anti-Syrian unrest in several parts of Lebanon, with opposition protesters blocking roads.

Mr Hassan, who was 47, headed the intelligence arm of Lebanon’s internal security forces and was close to Mr Hariri.

His funeral is due to be held in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut.

He will be buried alongside Mr Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, an official is quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Rafik Hariri was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 2005. Mr Hassan led an investigation implicating Damascus in the attack.

Saad Hariri said the funeral should be attended by “all of Lebanon, which Wissam al-Hassan protected from the plots of [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad”.

Mr Hassan also recently organised the arrest of a former minister accused of planning a Syrian-sponsored bombing campaign in Lebanon.

A day after the bombing, Prime Minister Najib Mikati suggested the attack had been connected with that case.

A day of national mourning was held on Saturday. Residents in the mainly Christian district of Ashrafiya, where the bomb went off, held a vigil for the victims.

Also on Saturday, Mr Mikati offered to resign as PM, but President Michel Suleiman asked him to stay on in the national interest.

Opposition supporters set up roadblocks and burnt tyres in Beirut, denouncing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese allies.

Similar protests were held in Sidon in the south, Tripoli in the north and in the Bekaa Valley in the east.

Tension in Lebanon has been rising as a result of the Syrian conflict.

Lebanon’s religious communities are divided between those who support the government of Syrian President Assad – including many Shias – and those mostly from the Sunni community who back the rebels.

Lebanon’s Shia militant group Hezbollah – a close ally of the Syrian government – condemned the bombing.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called it a “cowardly, terrorist act”. He said such incidents were “unjustifiable wherever they occur”.

BBC