Army stand guard as Lebanese vote in key elections

ARMY and police patrols stood guard yesterday as thousands of Lebanese went to vote in a key election to replace two assassinated lawmakers in the politically torn country.

The tense vote was taking place in two electoral districts, one in Beirut and the other in Lebanon’s Metn region, a Christian stronghold where the community is deeply divided.

The elections are to replace cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel, a Christian who was shot dead in November, and lawmaker Walid Eido, a Sunni Muslim who was killed in a Beirut car bomb in June.