Lebanon prepares to bury its murdered intelligence chief

The opposition in Lebanon have called for a big turnout at the funeral of the murdered intelligence official Wissam al-Hassan.

He is due to be interred at a mosque in Beirut’s Martyr’s Square.

The general was killed along with seven other people in a massive car-bomb explosion on Friday that.

Opponents of the government blame Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad. Hassan had uncovered an alleged Syrian bomb plot within Lebanon two months ago.

Mourner Mohamed Othman said: “We are on the streets today to say, ‘We are not afraid of you anymore, we are not afraid of explosions no matter how much you try. We are staying here’.”

Samer al-Hirri said: “We came from the north yesterday, and we want to say that weapons cannot overcome the power of the pen. Wissam al-Hassan is from our area and we came here to bid him farewell.”

Newspapers spoke of a country in mourning, and of anger against the government. Syria’s ally Hezbollah plays a major role in the administration.

Al-Hassan’s wife and two children flew to Beirut from their home in France for the funeral which the opposition hope will become a political rally against the Syrian regime and the Lebanese government.

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