Lebanese protesters broke into the UN headquarters in Beirut yesterday, smashing windows and ransacking offices, to protest Israel's raid on Qana that left at least 54 dead.
Several thousand people massed outside the building in downtown Beirut chanting "Death to Israel, death to America. We sacrifice our blood and souls for Lebanon."
By early afternoon, most protesters had drifted away, leaving a few hundred people milling in a carpark opposite the building.
Geir Petersen, the personal representative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Lebanon, condemned the Israeli attack on the village of Qana and called for an immediate investigation.
"This tragic event demonstrates the urgency for all parties to heed the United Nations' repeated calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities," he said.
Petersen was not at the UN building when it was attacked.
UN spokesman Khaled Mansour said the building had been stoned and furniture smashed but no UN staff were hurt as they had taken refuge in the basement.
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