An independent international investigation commission Thursday
began the probe into assassination of Lebanese Industry Minister
Pierre Gemayel, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. reported.
According to the report, four judges and experts from the
commission, which was dedicated to the investigation on political
murder over the last two years, have started their work in
coordination with the Lebanese judicial authority.
The UN Security Council approved earlier in the day a request by
the Lebanese government to expand the commission's investigation
beyond the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
to the recent assassination of Gemayel.
Also on Thursday, the funeral of Gemayel was held in the
country's capital of Beirut with the attendance of his father Amin
Gemayel, who is also former president, Lebanese Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Seniora as well as many other
Lebanese officials and public figures.
Thousands of mourners also gathered outside Beirut's St. George
Cathedral where the funeral was held to bid their farewell to the
young minister.
Gemayel, 34, a Christian leader in Lebanon and a member of
anti-Syrian parliament majority, was shot dead on Tuesday when his
convoy was attacked on a street in Jedeide, about 15 km northeast
of Beirut.
Gemayel was the fifth anti-Syrian figure to be killed in the
past two years.
Lebanon has witnessed a series of blasts since February 2005
when former premier Rafik Hariri was killed in a deadly bombing
attack.
(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2006)
