UN report continues accusations on Syria involvement in assassination

The report by Mehlis which will be discussed by the UN security council accused Syria of incomplete cooperation and described its cooperation as slow. The report called on the Syrian authorities for complete and unconditional cooperation in the next phases of the investigation.

Mehlis also accused Syria of continued dissemination of instability in Lebanon following the assassination of al-Hariri. He said that his committee learnt that after the assassination of Hariri, one senior Syrian official provided groups and individuals in Lebanon with weapons and ammunition in order to create a state instability as a reaction to any accusation of Syria's involvement in the assassination of Hariri.

The report stressed that there is new evidence explaining that the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence had prior knowledge on the planning to the murder of Hariri, noting that 19 persons are suspected in this case.

The report demanded the arrest of five Syrian officials who were interrogated in Vienna recently over suspicion that they were involved in "planning, organization and preparation" for the murder of Hariri, and to put them at the disposal of the international committee. Mehlis also asked Damascus to permit his committee to question the Syrian foreign minister Farouq al-Sharaa.

A copy of the report which was leaked to the press said that six Syrian officials considered as suspects were summoned and their names were not disclosed in Vienna but only five of them were sent for the interrogation, while interrogation of the 6th was postponed.

The report indicated that the Syrian suspects who were interrogated confirmed to the investigation committee that the archives of the Syrian security forces concerning Lebanon were all trashed.