Lebanese Protesters Riot at Funeral for Slain Official

Beirut unrest escalates amid funeral of intel chief
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 21, 2012 8:59 AM CDT
Lebanese Protesters Riot at Funeral for Slain Official
A man carries one corner of the Syrian revolutionary flag as well as a Lebanese national flag, as people gather in Martyrs' Square before the funeral for the country's intelligence chief, Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. Lebanese forces set up road blocks and cordoned...   (Maya Alleruzzo)

Lebanese soldiers have fired machine guns and rifles into the air and lobbed volleys of tear gas at hundreds of angry protesters who are trying to storm the Lebanese government headquarters in Beirut. The chaotic scene in Lebanon's capital today comes in the midst of a funeral for a top intelligence official who was killed in a massive car bombing that many blame on Bashar al-Assad's regime in neighboring Syria. The protesters believe the government is too close to Syria and Damascus' ally in Lebanon, the Shiite group Hezbollah. (More Beirut stories.)

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