Troops in Lebanon have begun a major security operation to force gunmen off the streets, trying to contain the violence prompted by the murder of a top intelligence official.

Violence erupted in downtown Beirut yesterday as protesters tried to storm the offices of prime minister Najib Mikati after the funeral of an assassinated intelligence chief whose death they blame on Syria.

Soldiers have carried two flag-draped coffins through a central Beirut square packed with thousands of Lebanese mourners who turned out for the funeral of a top intelligence official and his bodyguard.

A senior security official is among at least eight people killed in a huge car bomb attack in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

President Bashar Assad’s forces killed at least 50 civilians, including 13 children, in central Syria, activists said.

HUNDREDS of protesters burned tires and blocked roads across Lebanon yesterday after a Hezbollah-backed politician was named prime minister, shifting the balance of power in the country toward Syria and Iran.

Iranian-supporting Hezbollah’s choice for Lebanon’s next prime minister won parliamentary support today, capping the group’s steady rise in power and sparking street riots by opponents.

A BOMB killed an anti-Syrian politician yesterday in Beirut - the second such assassination in three weeks.

A bomb killed an anti-Syrian politician today in Beirut – the second such assassination in three weeks.

An explosion rocked a shopping area and sparked a fire near a Christian radio station and a church in the port city of Jounieh, north of Beirut, killing at least one person.

WITH Syria's nearly three decades of military involvement over, Lebanon yesterday announced that the first round of parliamentary elections would be held May 29, two days before the deadline.

Syria ended its 29-year military presence in Lebanon today with a farewell ceremony near their shared border, where a Syrian commander told Lebanese troops: “Brothers in arms, so long.”

US President George W Bush said in an interview on Arab television today that his administration will keep up the pressure on Syria to completely end its influence in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s president has named moderate pro-Syrian lawmaker Najib Mikati as prime minister, breaking a political deadlock and reviving chances for holding parliamentary elections next month.

Rescue teams were searching the sea off the West African nation of Benin today in a desperate hunt for survivors of a plane crash that killed at least 96 people, authorities said.