Chatah was influential figure

Beirut: Mohammad Chatah was seen as an influential figure in the March 14 coalition, which is opposed to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah.

His assassination stirred painful memories of a string of bombings that hit Lebanon between 2005 and 2012, targeting prominent figures that were critical of the Syrian regime.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack that killed Chatah, but March 14 implied Damascus and Hezbollah were behind it without naming them.

“The criminal is the same, he who is thirsty for the blood of Syrians ... he and his Lebanese allies.”

Syria denied the “wrong and arbitrary accusations,” while Hezbollah said the bombing was aimed at destroying “national unity”.

Chatah is the ninth high-profile Syrian regime critic killed in Lebanon since Hariri’s assassination, and his death raised new fears of instability in Lebanon.