Lebanon was in mourning on Thursday after the slaying of another anti-Syrian lawmaker in a huge car bombing that could derail a key presidential poll and was widely blamed on Syria. MP Antoine Ghanem was killed along with several other people in a massive car bombing on Wednesday.
Lebanese newspapers said his murder was a clear message ahead of a crucial parliamentary session on Tuesday to elect a new president. "Antoine Ghanem, a bloody message for the majority and the presidential election," said the front-page headline of the leading An-Nahar newspaper.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora urged the United Nations to investigate the killing of Ghanem as part of its probe into similar murders of anti-Syrian figures since former premier Rafiq Hariri was assassinated in 2005.
Ghanem's party said the funeral would be held on Friday and called for a general strike on Thursday. The education ministry said all schools and unversities would stay shut both on Thursday and Friday. Banks as well as government departments across Lebanon were also shut Thursday to observe a day of mourning.
Ghanem's death reduced the majority in parliament to 68 members out of the now 127-member chamber, with numbers set to play a key role in the presidential vote to replace the current pro-Syrian head of state Emile Lahoud.
"This is an attack aimed at sabotaging all efforts to reach a solution to the current political crisis," Butros Harb, an MP and presidential candidate, said, according to the AP. "You cannot separate this killing from the presidential election."
