| UN to reveal
cover-up of Hariri killing: report LONDON -
A United Nations investigation into the death of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri will
report that Lebanese and Syrian authorities are behind a cover-up of evidence from the
February 14 blast, The Independent newspaper said on Monday.
"The UN investigators have become convinced that there was a cover-up of evidence at
the very highest levels of the Lebanese and Syrian intelligence authorities," the
British daily said.
Veteran Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk, based in Beirut, quoted no sources for his
report but said that members of Hariri's family had been warned the UN report on the death
would be "devastating".
The Lebanese opposition has blamed the February 14 explosion that killed Hariri and 18
other people on the pro-Syrian regime.
Beirut has denied any responsibility over the attack, which has unleashed massive public
protests against Syria's military presence and led to the downfall of the Syrian-backed
government.
It has agreed to cooperate with a UN commission of inquiry but rejected a full
international probe.
The UN team, comprised of Irish, Egyptian and Moroccan investigators and recently joined
by Swiss bomb experts, have discovered that many of the vehicles from Hariri's convoy were
moved from the scene of the blast only hours after it happened, Fisk said.
The Independent also published a photo of the bomb site taken 36 hours before the bombing,
and suggested that a "mysterious object" seen near a drain pipe indicated that
explosives could have been planted beneath the avenue.
This would contradict initial reports that Hariri was killed by a car bomb, Fisk said.
"If (investigators) successfully recover parts of (one remaining destroyed) vehicle,
they may be able to discover the nature of the explosives," he wrote. |
