Beirut (AsiaNews) Pierre Gemayel, a leader in the Maronite-dominated Phalangist party, was assassinated today.
Gemayel, 34, son of former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel and currently Industry minister and a leading politician in the governing anti-Syrian coalition, was shot, execution style, to the head with a silencer in Jdeide, East Beirut.
Gemayel's assassination comes at a time of high political tensions. Hezbollah's and its allies, who have quit PM Siniora's government accusing the latter of being pro-Western, have been planning huge streets protests for this Thursday.
Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian coalition that holds sway in Lebanon's parliament and son of murdered former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, has already accused Syria of involvement in the assassination, saying on CNN that "the hand of Syria" was all over the murder.
Mr Hariri was informed of the assassination as he was holding a press conference in which he accused Syria of trying to undermine the international tribunal that should judge the various political assassinations it carried out in Lebanon through its Lebanese allies since 2004.
In announcing Gemayel's death he implicitly accused Damascus, saying that there was nothing between "us and that regime" and that the international tribunal now separated them.