Bellemare finds links between Hariri killing, another attack
The UN investigator charged with finding those responsible for the killing of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri has leads to more people potentially involved in the assassination and believes there may be a link to another case under investigation by the UN. Daniel Bellemare, the Canadian prosecutor heading the International Investigation Commission, had previously said that a group of people, the "Hariri network," had been responsible for the suicide bombing that killed the former prime minister.
"The Commission has identified new information that may allow the Commission to link additional individuals with this network," Bellemare said in his latest report, which was distributed to UN Security Council members on Monday and Tuesday and of which a copy was seen by The Daily Star.
In addition, another of the 20 other assassinations or assassination attempts currently probed by the UN may be linked to the Hariri murder, Bellemare concluded.
New evidence supported the idea of linkage between the cases, the report says. The investigators had found "a potential link between one additional case and the Hariri case."
"Given the sensitivity of this area of the investigation, no further detail can be provided at this time."
Hariri was killed by a car bomb in February 2005. The incident led to mass demonstrations and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops from the Lebanon after 29 years of military presence.
Many political leaders, including former French President Jacques Chirac, have alleged the Syrian state could have played a role in the assassination.
However, Damascus denied any form of involvement.
Like before, Bellemare declined to name any of the suspects under investigation and did not expose their number or their nationalities.
However, the report said that soil, sand and water samples collected from different states in the Middle East and additional "isotopic investigations" could help to "identify the possible geographic origin of the suicide bomber."
The commission also requested to extend the current investigative mandate until the start of a Special International Tribunal dealing with the case on March 1, 2009. The current mandate expires at the end of 2009.
In the future, the report suggested, the UN investigators will focus more intensively on financial transactions linked to members of the group. It had done so over the past six months and found "leads that are being followed up."
However, Bellemare also admitted facing enormous difficulties with his investigations. "For every inch of progress, there is a mile of activity" the report said.
"Those responsible for the attacks were professional and took extensive measures to cover their tracks and hide their identity," it added.