Dueling Memorials Shake Beirut

Thousands gather to honor Hariri, Mughniyeh
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 14, 2008 8:16 AM CST
Dueling Memorials Shake Beirut
A worker at a printing shop works on a picture of slain Hezbollah top commander Imad Mughniyeh as they prepare for his Thursday's funeral in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008. Imad Mughniyeh, the suspected mastermind of vicious attacks on the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine...   (Associated Press)

Tension is high and security tight across Beirut today as thousands gathered for two opposing memorials—one marking the third anniversary of the assassination of anti-Syrian PM Rafiq al-Hariri, the other a funeral for top Hezbollah commander Imad Moghniyeh. More than 8,000 army and international troops are trying to ensure violence does not break out between the anti-Syrian Hariri demonstrators and pro-Syrian Hezbollah mourners.

With steady rain in Beirut today, al Jazeera reports that many are staying home and “hoping that today passes without incident.” Hariri's assassination sparked a wave of political turmoil that has left Lebanon without a president or parliament. But Moghniyeh's death in a car bomb Tuesday has many pointing fingers directly at Israel amid calls to re-engage the July 2006 war. (More Lebanon stories.)

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