Beirut
Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, a leader of the Maronite Christian minority, was gunned down in his car this week while driving through a Beirut suburb. Gemayel was the son of former President Amin Gemayel and a prominent voice in the anti-Syrian wing of Lebanese politics. He recently voted to support the international tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a killing widely blamed on Syria. Gemayel’s murder came just a day after Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Islamic militant party Hezbollah, called for mass protests to topple the Lebanese government. Hezbollah has been in a power struggle with the government since the month-long war with Israel this summer.
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