Murder of General Deepens Crisis in Lebanon

Lebanon's political crisis deepened further yesterday when a senior general was killed in a bomb attack in a Christian suburb on the outskirts of Beirut.

General Francois al-Hajj, the army chief of operations, had been widely expected to become chief of staff if the incumbent, General Michel Suleiman, were chosen as the country's next president.

Three other people were also reported to have died in Baabda when a parked car exploded as the general's vehicle drove past in the morning rush hour. Hajj's body and that of a bodyguard were thrown into a ravine by the force of the blast.

Analysts immediately linked the attack to divisions over the presidency, which has been vacant since November 23 because rival communities and factions cannot agree on a compromise candidate, who is required to be a Maronite Christian.

It is the first time that the Lebanese army - widely seen as the only force capable of holding the country together - has been a target. It is Lebanon's worst crisis since the 15-year civil war.

Accusations quickly followed familiar lines. Saad Hariri, leader of the anti- Syrian parliamentary majority, said the killing of Hajj came as "Lebanon's enemies are seeking to consecrate the vacuum in the presidency". Others openly named Damascus as the culprit. The Syrians have been blamed for a string of bombings over two years that have killed eight of their prominent opponents, including Hariri's father, Rafik, a former Lebanese prime minister.

Damascus has always hotly denied any role in those killings. The Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem, denounced the "criminal attack".

Marwan Hamadeh, Lebanon's telecommunications minister, accused the "Syrian-Iranian axis" of hitting "the only body in Lebanon who can balance the power of Hizbullah and other militias".

But Hizbullah, a Shia organization, denounced the assassination, calling Hajj's death a "great national loss".

Syria called "Israel and its agents ... in Lebanon ... the beneficiaries of this crime", according to the Sana news agency.

Suspicion also fell on the Sunni Muslim extremists of a group called Fatah al-Islam whom the Lebanese army crushed after weeks of heavy fighting in which 450 died at the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon, in operations commanded by Hajj.

"My first reaction is that this is linked to Nahr el-Bared, that it is a revenge attack," said Butros Harb, an MP with the ruling western-backed majority.

On Monday Lebanon's parliament speaker postponed the presidential election to December 17, the eighth such delay. Politicians remain at odds over how to amend the constitution to allow Suleiman to take up the post.

Arab and western states fear a prolonged vacuum in the presidency could further weaken the country. "This cowardly act ... is part of an obvious attempt to destabilise Lebanon," said the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, who has spearheaded efforts to end the impasse.