Funeral for Lebanon Security Official Turns Violent

Lebanese security forces unleashed a barrage of gunfire and tear gas in central Beirut on Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters trying to storm the government headquarters after the funeral of a top Lebanese intelligence official killed by a car bomb.

The speedy ignition of the protests demonstrated the flammability of the country's divisive and sectarian politics. The protesters blamed the assassination on the government of neighboring Syria and consider Lebanon's current government to be too close to that embattled regime.

Many also chanted against Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that dominates the government and serves as the Damascus regime's closest Lebanese ally.

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