The happiness of this wedding was destroyed when a man was gunned down in an honour killing as part of an endless cycle of violence in Lebanon.

Honour killings are often classified as violence against women, but in fact they affect entire families with the only justification being to defend the honour of a family or tribe.

Local media identified the victim solely as A.S. and said he was killed in a ‘revenge’ attack carried out by an unnamed member of the Al Ghosn family in revenge for an attack they allegedly endured from the victim.

Footage shows the moment the perpetrator runs towards the victim wielding a handgun and shoots him at close range in front of shocked wedding guests at the outdoor ceremony in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on the night of Saturday, 31st August.

Soldiers from the Lebanese army were called in to seal off the area and bring it under control after there were fears the killing could escalate into a full-blown tribal war.

The perpetrator is reported to belong to the Arab Khulda tribe, which issued a statement reading: “As an Arab tribe in Lebanon, it is the customs and traditions of Arabs to take revenge if there is no reconciliation between the disputants.

“What happened today when A.S. was killed was nothing but taking revenge and the killer is the brother of H.G., who was killed earlier.

“Therefore, we hope that the family of the murdered person will consider the killing as an eye for an eye, and nothing more.”

According to local media, the killing was in revenge for the murder of a 14-year-old boy at the hands of A.S. last year.

It was not reported if the police are investigating the killing, but Lebanese society is patriarchal, with many arguing that it has nothing to do with the legal system and happens outside the law.

Even when pursued by the courts, local laws allow mitigating circumstances for crimes carried out in order to protect the family or tribe’s “honour”.