Hundreds of Lebanese came out in pouring rain Friday for a farewell ceremony for one of the country's top generals, whose killing has raised fears that even the respected army is not immune to the country's ongoing violence.
Lebanese citizens carry the coffin of slain Maj.-Gen. Francois Hajj Friday in east Beirut as they pass the scene where a car bomb assassinated him earlier this week.
(Hussein Malla/Associated Press)
Pro-government and opposition politicians put aside their deep divisions and attended the funeral service in Beirut for Maj.-Gen. Francois Hajj.
Hajj and his driver were killed Wednesday in a car bombing. Authorities are looking into possible involvement of Al-Qaeda-inspired Sunni Muslim extremists seeking vengeance on Hajj, who led a major offensive against Islamic militants last summer.
Hajj's casket was carried in the pouring rain from the military hospital to his house in suburban Baabda, near the site of the car bombing. Hundreds lined the procession route.
The army guard played sombre music as the flag-draped coffin was taken to Maronite Catholic basilica for an official service. The casket will later be driven to his southern hometown of Rmeish near the Israeli border for burial.
Hajj's slaying came as Lebanon experiences its latest political crisis — a dispute over electing the new president.
The post has been vacant since Emile Lahoud's term ended Nov. 23 because the Western-backed government and its opposition, led by pro-Syrian Hezbollah, have been unable to agree on a successor.
At Hajj's funeral, a bishop read a message from Pope Benedict XVI condemning the "unjustified violence" and calling on Lebanese politicians to reconcile.
In a eulogy, the military chief of staff, Maj.-Gen. Shawki Masri, vowed the army would "not rest until the murderers are apprehended and punished" and called for the government and opposition to work together to end the deadlock.
"In unity, we will have the strength and we can achieve the impossible," said Masri, the highest-ranking Muslim officer from the Druse sect.
String of assassinations
While a string of assassinations has plagued Lebanon since an attack that killed former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in 2005, the military had not been targeted until now.
Four Lebanese were detained Wednesday after the car used in the bombing was found to be registered to their names, a security official said.
Hajj was credited with crushing al-Qaeda-inspired fighters known as Fatah Islam who barricaded themselves in a northern Palestinian refugee camp, Nahr el-Bared, for three months.
Hundreds of militants and dozens of soldiers died in the fighting, which ended in September.
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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