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BEIRUT - Gunmen have assassinated Lebanese Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel, an outspoken critic of Syria, plunging Lebanon deeper into a crisis over ties with its dominant neighbour.
At least three gunmen rammed their car into Gemayel's vehicle near Beirut, then leapt out and riddled it with bullets, firing at Gemayel with silencer-equipped automatic weapons at point-blank range in a Christian neighbourhood, witnesses said.
Ten bullet holes were seen around the window of the driver's seat of his grey car. The two front seats were soaked in blood.
The son of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri blamed Syria for the killing, but Damascus condemned the murder.
>> Lebanon minister shot dead
The killing is certain to heighten tensions in Lebanon amid a deep political crisis pitting the anti-Syrian majority against the pro-Damascus opposition led by Hezbollah, which is determined to topple what it sees as a pro-US government.
Gemayel, 34, was rushed to hospital where he later died of his wounds. Television footage showed hundreds of angry and weeping family members and supporters gathering at the hospital.
"We believe the hand of Syria is all over the place," Saad al-Hariri, whose father Rafik was killed in a suicide bombing last year, said from Beirut shortly after Gemayel was shot dead.
"Syria strongly condemns the killing," the official Syrian news agency SANA said. The Shi'ite group Hezbollah also condemned the "low criminal act" and urged an investigation.
The assassination came after a devastating July-August conflict in south Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, which accused the pro-US government of trying to weaken it.
It also coincided with UN Security Council moves to create a tribunal to try those suspected of Hariri's assassination.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Gemayel's killing would make Lebanon more determined to set up the international court. Many Lebanese blame Syria for the killing of Hariri in a suicide truck bombing in February 2005.
Damascus denies involvement, though a UN commission investigating the assassination has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials.
Six pro-Syrian ministers resigned from Siniora's cabinet this month and with Gemayel's death, the deaths or resignations of two more ministers would bring down the government.
Angry protesters in the Christian town of Zahle in eastern Lebanon blocked off streets and shouted slogans against Hezbollah and Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun, but Gemayel's father urged supporters not to retaliate.
"I have one wish, that tonight be a night of prayer to contemplate the meaning of this martyrdom and how to protect this country," former President Amin Gemayel told reporters outside the hospital where his son's body was taken.
"I call on all those who appreciate Pierre's martyrdom to preserve his cause and for all of us to remain at the service of Lebanon. We don't want reactions and revenge," he said.
Gemayel, elected to parliament in 2000 and again in 2005, is the fourth Lebanese anti-Syrian figure to be assassinated since former prime minister Hariri's killing.
Gemayel, industry minister, was a member of the Christian Phalange Party founded by his grandfather. His uncle Bashir Gemayel was killed in September 1982 after he was elected president during Israel's invasion of Lebanon.
The Christian Phalange party controlled one of the largest militias fighting in the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war.
Pierre, like his father and late uncle, was a strong opponent of the influence of Syria, who many Lebanese blame for the assassination of Rafik al-Hariri.
US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said it was a "very sad day for Lebanon". "We were shocked by this assassination. We view it as an act of terrorism and we also view it as an act of intimidation," he said.
Both French President Jacques Chirac and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the killers must be brought to justice.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud condemned Gemayel's killing.
"We won't let this horrific terrorist act pass. We will do the impossible to uncover the criminals because they are working against all the Lebanese."
Hariri's son Saad, who is parliamentary majority leader, interrupted a news conference to announce the shooting of Gemayel. "They want to kill every free person," he said.
One of two bodyguards hurt in the attack died of his wounds.
Pro-Syrian Hezbollah and its allies are preparing to take to the streets to topple Siniora's government, which they accuse of being allied with the United States, arguing that it has lost its legitimacy since Shi'ite Muslims are no longer represented.
- REUTERS
