Crowds rallied behind a funeral procession Thursday after a huge car blast killed a prominent anti-Syrian lawmaker and nine other people. Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora has called for an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers and the international community to assist in the investigation of Walid Edo's murder Wednesday aftrenoon near a popular waterfront promenade in the Lebanese capital.
Local media said the car was rigged with 80 kilograms of explosives and detonated by remote control.
Businesses, schools and government offices were closed Thursday after the government announced a day of national mourning. According to the AP, several hundred followers gathered on the street for the funeral procession, carrying flags of the Hariri Future movement.
Lebanon's majority coalition blamed Syria for Wednesday's assassination. "This crime is a clear message from the Syrian regime to Lebanon in response to the creation of the international tribunal," said a statement read by lawmaker Bassem Sabei.
"We shall not leave them the arena no matter how many fall; we will not abandon Beirut," said Saad Hariri, son of the slain former prime minister and leader of the anti-Syrian majority bloc in parliament to which Edo belonged.
On his part, Lebanon's Telecommunication Minister Marwan Hamadeh said the killing was part of a "physical liquidation" campaign against the parliamentary majority by Damascus.
