Beirut jammed for Gemayel funeral

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- The center of Beirut was jammed Thursday for the funeral of cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel, assassinated by gunmen two days earlier.

Mourners carried his coffin to St. George Cathedral from his hometown of Bikfaya as police filtered through the throngs checking bags, CNN reported.

The 34-year-old industry minister and champion of the Maronite church was gunned down in his car Tuesday in a Christian neighborhood of Beirut.

He was the fifth anti-Syrian Lebanese politician to be killed in two years, and immediate accusations arose that Syria was responsible for the attack, as Gemayel was a very vocal critic of the country's political influence through the Hezbollah party, the BBC said.

Damascus has denied any involvement in the slaying.

Gemayel is the son of former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel, who made a public appeal Tuesday night for calm. The slain Gemayel's grandfather founded the Christian Phalange party, of which he was a leading member.