Former Lebanon PM Killed By Truck Bomb

[Cpl Kendall]

CBC.CA

Former Lebanon PM killed by truck bomb, probe reveals
Last Updated Fri, 17 Jun 2005 08:19:15 EDT
CBC News

A truck bombing caused the explosion that killed Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri and 20 others in February, a United Nations-mandated investigation into the assassination has concluded.

* INDEPTH: Lebanon

Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri. (AP photo)

Detlev Mehlis, a top German prosecutor who is leading the investigation, told a news conference that the Feb. 14 explosion in downtown Beirut in the midst of Hariri's motorcade was "without any reasonable doubt above the ground."

Some had suspected that explosives were buried underneath the street, which would suggest a government-backed plot because digging up the street would have required permits.

Mehlis told reporters he did not know if the truck was stationary or moving when it blew up.

Mehlis and his team of experts arrived in Beirut in late May to begin their investigation. His team has at least three months to continue the investigation.

The probe follows a UN Security Council unanimous vote authorizing the investigation. A UN fact-finding team criticized the Lebanese probe into the killing, saying evidence had been removed, ignored or planted.

* FROM APR. 7, 2005: UN to set up inquiry into Lebanese PM's death

The death of Hariri set off international anger and massive anti-Syrian protests, as millions of Lebanese blamed Syria for the attack. Syria says it wasn't involved.

The protests and international pressure led Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.

As unfortunate as this event was, the silver lining is that it got Syria out of Lebanon.