US senator meets Annan, accuses Syria of killing Hariri

In the first American, but not official accusations to Syria of involving in the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, The US senator Patrick Leahy said he still doubts that Damascus is responsible for the assassination.

Though no one of the American officials had talked about information to this effect, the democratic senator from Vermont indicated that he learnt "enough evidence" on al-Hariri to make sure that the Syrians are responsible for his assassination. Leahy who was talking after his meeting with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss several issues said he did not think anybody in Lebanon, nor may be in Syria, who does not think the Syrian were responsible for killing him.

This statement which is the first of its kind coincides with Annan's announcement that he had asked his special delegate Terry Road Larsen to return back to Damascus for what he called "the full implementation of the UN security council resolution no. 1559 which calls for the withdrawal of the Syrian forces and intelligence members from Lebanon and dismantling the militias weapons.