Region | Lebanon

UN investigators uncover fresh evidence in Hariri assasination

A special commission investigating the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri reported on Tuesday it has uncovered fresh evidence that could lead to more suspects in the three-year-old assassination case.

  • AP
  • Published: 08:24 December 3, 2008
  • Gulf News

United Nations: United Nations (UN) investigators probing the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri said on Tuesday they had found new information that expanded their list of suspects.

Their report comes as UN efforts to bring Hariri's killers to justice gather pace. Last week, Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon announced that a special tribunal to try the case would be set up in The Hague on March 1.

The report, authored by chief investigator Daniel Bellemare of Canada, also said his Beirut-based team found fresh clues to where the suicide bomber responsible for Hariri's death came from, although it gave no further details.

Hariri and 22 other people died in a car bomb explosion in Beirut on February 14, 2005. Some anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians have said Syria was behind the bombing, a charge Damascus vehemently denies.

The assassination sparked a worldwide outcry that forced the withdrawal of Syrian troops that had been in Lebanon for nearly 30 years. The UN probe and tribunal remain sensitive issues in Lebanon, where tension between pro- and anti-Syrian camps runs high.

The report for the Security Council is Bellemare's second since he took charge of the investigative commission this year.

Assistance for troops

The commander of US Central Command, General David Petraeus, met senior Lebanese officials on Tuesday to discuss US military aid to Lebanese troops, the state-run news agency reported. The National News Agency said Petraeus held talks with Prime Minister Fouad Seniora before meeting with army commander General Jean Kahwaji at the latter's office at the Defence Ministry.

Petraeus discussed with Kahwaji the US military assistance programme for the Lebanese army.

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