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US to help in Lebanon bomb investigation

BBC News online - 21 October 2012

She said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had agreed with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati that her country would provide assistance.

Mrs Clinton spoke to Mr Mikati by phone after the funeral of Wissam al-Hassan, the security official killed on Friday.

Clashes erupted after the funeral, as protesters called on Mr Mikati to quit.

Police fired warning shots and tear gas as some demonstrators tried to storm the government offices in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

There were reports of further violence in southern and western Beirut overnight.

Opposition figures have blamed neighbouring Syria for the attack, protesting against Syria and its Lebanese allies amid fears the Syrian conflict could spill over.

A majority within Lebanon's government support the Syrian regime.

Mr Hassan, 47, was close to the 14 March opposition and the Hariri family, part of the anti-Syrian opposition.

The Syrian government condemned the attack, which also killed one of Mr Hassan's bodyguards and a woman nearby.

Lebanon's religious communities are divided between those who support the Syrian government - including many Shias - and those mostly from the Sunni community who back the rebels.
"She noted the importance of political leaders working together at this sensitive time to ensure that calm prevails and that those responsible for the attack are brought to justice," the statement added.
Mr Hassan led an investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which implicated Damascus.

He also recently organised the arrest of a former minister accused of planning a Syrian-sponsored bombing campaign in Lebanon.

Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2005 after a 29-year-long presence, in the wake of Mr Hariri's killing.

But the BBC's Wyre Davies reports that there are concerns in Beirut that Damascus is able to reach into Lebanese society both directly and through its allies.

Mr Hassan was buried next to Mr Hariri on Sunday.

Many mourners waved the light blue flag of the Sunni-based opposition Future Party, while others carried Lebanon's national flag.

Mr Mikati says he offered to resign after the attack, but accepted a request from President Michel Suleiman to stay on in order to avoid a power vacuum.