Mourners clash with security forces

The state funeral in Beirut of an assassinated Lebanese intelligence chief ended in violence yesterday as angry mourners broke…

The state funeral in Beirut of an assassinated Lebanese intelligence chief ended in violence yesterday as angry mourners broke away and tried to storm the offices of prime minister Najib Mikati, prompting security forces to shoot in the air and fire tear gas to repulse them.

Opposition leaders and their supporters accuse Syria of being behind the car bombing that killed Brig Gen Wissam al-Hassan on Friday and say Mr Mikati is too close to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese ally Hizbullah, which is part of Mikati’s government.

A breakaway group from the funeral marched to the prime minister’s office, then overturned barriers, pulled apart barbed wire coils and threw stones, steel rods and bottles at soldiers and police.

– (Reuters)