TRIPOLI: The hometown of outgoing Prime Minister Omar Karami was thrown into a panic Tuesday, one day after his resignation, as gunmen drove through the streets firing weapons into the air. Parents in the port city of Tripoli rushed to pull their children out of schools, which closed along with banks, other businesses and universities after leaflets calling for a general strike were distributed. The leaflets said: "We are calling for a general strike in Tripoli ... in order to confront the plot of the opposition ... which is seeking to burn all of Lebanon."The main squares and internal roads of the northern city were swarming with Internal Security Forces personnel Tuesday, while the army set up several checkpoints, including one at the northern entrance of Tripoli, in the Bab al-Tabbaneh area. Karami supporters toured the city with loudspeakers to call for massive participation in Fadi Ahmed's funeral, the Karami supporter killed after the premier announced his resignation late Monday. A first report said Ahmed, 22, was killed when gunshots were fired across the city as hundreds of angry Karami followers vandalized the offices of opposition parties, including that of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The administration of the Islamic Charity Hospital, where Ahmed was rushed for treatment, staged a protest on hospital premises in support of Karami and strongly denounced Ahmed's death.
However, disputing the original description of events, the Tal-based ISF station reported Tuesday that Ahmed was killed by his own brother over personal differences. A source at the station denied the previous statement that an unidentified party had shot him from the rooftop of a building facing Karami's residence. Ahmed's brother managed to escape, the ISF said, adding that a statement will soon be released confirming the latest version of the murder, according to investigations and eyewitnesses.