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Beirut braces for 2 memorials
14/02/2008 12:02 - (SA)
Beirut - The Lebanese were turning out in tens of thousands on Thursday for two opposing Beirut gatherings - Shi'ite Muslims supporters of Hezbollah to bid farewell to its slain top commander Imad Mughniyeh, and their pro-Western opponents at a downtown square to mark former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's 2005 assassination.
Amid fears of violence between the opposing sides, authorities deployed thousands of troops and blocked major roads.
Hezbollah urged crowds to its stronghold of south Beirut to march behind the coffin of Imad Mughniyeh, the group's former security chief and one of world's most wanted fugitives, killed in a car bombing in Syria on Tuesday night.
The group called on supporters to "carry on our shoulders a leader of whose leadership we were proud, and a martyr by whose martyrdom we're honoured".
"Let us make our voice heard by all the enemies and murderers that we will be victorious, no matter the sacrifices," said a Hezbollah statement aired on the militant group's Al-Manar TV.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah - himself in hiding because of fears of assassination since the 2006 summer war with Israel - was expected to address mourners through a video broadcast over a giant screen.
Hezbollah and its top ally, Iran, have accused Israel of Mughniyeh's slaying. Israel denied any involvement, but officials made no effort to conceal their approval of his death. The United States welcomed it.
Third anniversary of Hariri assassination
By the time Mughniyeh's funeral gets under way in early afternoon, a few kilometres away in downtown Beirut, a mass rally by government supporters and opponents of Hezbollah marking the third anniversary of Hariri's assassination was to expected to wind down.
The anti-Syrian parliamentary majority had hoped a massive show of popular support, perhaps by hundreds of thousands, on the Hariri anniversary would force the Hezbollah-led opposition to compromise in a 15-month political stalemate that has paralysed the country.
The anniversary rally also meant to send a message to Syria to stay out of Lebanese politics. Billboards on major highways called for supporters to attend: "Come down, so they don't come back."
Hariri's supporters blame Syria for killing the prominent politician in a massive suicide truck bombing in Beirut three years ago and for a series of bombings and assassinations since. Hariri's assassination ignited mass protests and international pressure that forced Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon after 29 years of control.
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