Anti-Syrian MP killed in Beirut car bomb

Antoine Ghanem, 64, a member of the Right-wing Christian Phalange Party, was killed along with eight other people in the attack in a Christian suburb of Beirut.

He was the eighth prominent anti-Syrian figure assassinated since 2005 and the attack came just six days before parliament was scheduled to meet to elect a new president in a deeply divisive vote.

"It is clear, lawmakers from the (anti-Syrian) majority are being liquidated," Ahmed Fatfat, a cabinet minister, said. He blamed the Syrian regime for the assassination, saying: "It is the only regime that does not want presidential elections in Lebanon to be held."

Parliament was due to meet on Tuesday to vote on a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud but rival political leaders have failed to agree on a consensus candidate, raising fears of further turmoil. Ghanem's death reduced the anti-Syrian coalition's majority to 68 members out of the now 127-member house, with numbers set to play a key role in the vote.

“The attack aims at destabilising Lebanon on the eve of Presidential elections,” says EU Presidency, adding that this “should not weaken the Lebanese people’s resolve to take a firm stand against violence. Those responsible for committing this hideous terrorist act must be promptly brought to justice. The Presidency urges all Lebanese parties and all actors in the region to refrain from any activities that would further endanger the political stability of Lebanon.”