LEBANESE POLICE USED tear gas to repel demonstrators trying to storm the Serail, the headquarters of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, amid calls for him to resign, an AFP reporter witnessed.

Following the funeral nearby of a senior police officer and opponent of the Syrian regime, “young people headed towards the building in the city centre, but security forces blocked them by firing into the air and using tear gas,” a policeman on the scene told AFP.

During funeral orations for slain police intelligence chief General Wissam al-Hassan, angry former premier Fuad Siniora called on Mikati to resign, adding his voice to many others since Hassan was killed in a car bombing on Friday.

Siniora, parliamentary chief for opposition leader Saad Hariri, said the “government is responsible for the crime that killed Wissam and his chauffeur. That is why he must go.”

“Mikati, you cannot stay in your post to cover up this crime,” he said. “If you stay, it means you agree with what happened and what will happen.”

The opposition has widely accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of being behind the attack, which killed two other people and wounded 126.

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