VOA常速英语2007年-Lebanon Buries Slain Army Commander

Lebanon's feuding¹ political leaders joined in Friday's funeral of Brigadier General Francois al Hajj, honoring the late army officer who was killed in a car-bomb on the outskirts² of Beirut Wednesday. Hajj is the ninth top figure to be assassinated³ since 2005 and the third in six months, as Edward Yeranian reports for the VOA from Beirut.

Lebanese united to bury a fallen hero in a ceremony that brought together feuding politicians who have not spoken to each other in weeks.

Army Commander Michel Suleiman, former President Amine Gemayel and opposition⁴ leader General Michel Aoun sat together in the front pew of a Maronite church on a mountaintop outside Beirut.

A torrential downpour added to the somber⁶ mood as normally stoic⁷ military officers wiped tears from their eyes.

Friends, family and well-wishers threw rose petals⁸ at the late general's coffin⁹, draped in the Lebanese flag, as a military honor guard carried it through the crowd.

Hajj was killed, Wednesday, by a car bomb that pulverized¹⁰ his vehicle as he was being driven to Lebanon's Defense¹¹ Ministry¹². The general had been widely expected to be the next commander of the Lebanese Army.

Lebanon's Maronite Christian¹³ Patriarch, Mar⁵ Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, eulogized the slain¹⁴ officer. He called General Hajj's death "an immense tragic¹⁵ loss," adding that the entire nation had "drowned in savagery¹⁶."

General Hajj was the ninth major figure to be assassinated since former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was killed in February 2005 in a massive car bomb explosion.

At least ten other attempted assassinations¹⁷ have targeted political figures, journalists and union leaders, most of whom were opponents of Syria's involvement in Lebanon.

Many Lebanese politicians have blamed Syria for the assassinations, a charge Damascus denies.

The authorities have detained three Lebananese individuals in the southern port city of Sidon, who reportedly have ties to a militant¹⁸ Palestinian group. General Hajj played a key role in the army's offensive against al-Qaida inspired militants¹⁹ at a Palestinian refugee camp north of Beirut earlier this year.

The general's death comes at a critical time in Lebanon's history, as the country struggles without a president, and the army attempts to maintain order after presidential elections were postponed²⁰ repeatedly.

Rival political parties have agreed to nominate Army Chief General Michel Suleiman for the presidency²¹. But they have been haggling²² over other issues and have now set a vote for December 17.