Home>News Center>World
             
     

    Troops on alert in tense Lebanon after Hariri killing
    (Agencies)
    Updated: 2005-02-15 13:53

    Lebanese troops were on alert across the country on Tuesday as the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in a car bomb blast raised fears of a political crisis and rekindled raw memories of civil war.


    A massive car bomb killed Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri on Beirut's waterfront February 14, 2005 witnesses and security sources said. Hariri is seen in this September 20 file photo.[Reuters]
    Hariri, a billionaire who masterminded the rebuilding of the country after the 1975-90 civil war, was killed as his motorcade passed through an exclusive part of Beirut's seafront, four months after he resigned as prime minister.

    Opposition leaders said Syria, which keeps 14,000 troops here and plays a powerbroker role resented by some Lebanese, bore responsibility for Hariri's death. They demanded the government resign and called for a three-day strike.

    But they stopped short of accusing Damascus or the Syrian-backed Lebanese government of any outright involvement.

    Army patrols made up of three or four army vehicles drove through the largely empty streets of central Beirut, where shops were shut at the start of three days of mourning for Hariri.

    Soldiers armed with M-16 assault rifles were seen manning checkpoints at main streets in the capital.

    At least 14 others were killed in the blast, the biggest in Lebanon since the end of the civil war. Officials said 135 others were injured.

    A group of protesters outside the Lebanon headquarters of the Syria's ruling Baath party accused Damascus on Monday of plotting the killing. They pelted the building with stones on Monday and burned pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    Hariri supporters gathered outside the Beirut hospital where he was taken and more chanted anti-Syrian slogans outside his palace in Qoreitem neighborhood, witnesses said.

    Hariri's funeral was planned for Wednesday, and the government called three days of national mourning.

    SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS

    U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he hoped the killing would not reignite civil war. President Bush was "shocked and angered," the White House said.

    "It is imperative that the already fragile situation in the region should not be further destabilized," Annan's spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

    The United States condemned the blast and said it would consult U.N. Security Council members about punitive measures. The Security Council planned a formal meeting on Tuesday about the killing as well as its resolution demanding Syrian troops get out of Lebanon.

    Since it helped broker the end of the war, Syria has maintained its grip on Lebanon, where it has pervasive intelligence services and widespread economic interests.

    Damascus hopes its support for Hizbollah guerrillas, who fought a long war of attrition with Israel and still clash on the Lebanese border, will be a useful bargaining chip in any peace deal with Israel to get back the occupied Golan Heights.

    Tensions were already running high as campaigning started for parliamentary elections in May which were widely seen as a bellwether on Syria's influence in Lebanon.

    It was not immediately clear whether the polls would now be postponed. The European Union urged the Lebanese government to press ahead with the ballot.

    The highest profile assassination since the end of the civil war prompted fears, never far from the minds of Lebanese, of a new slide into bloodshed that once tore their country apart.

    "It was bad deja vu," said Nazha Merebi, a 36-year-old recruitment officer. "Today, I just thought: oh my god, it's happening again. I grew up in the war. I know what it's like and I don't want it to happen again."



     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    At least 203 killed, 22 injured in Liaoning coal mine blast

     

       
     

    Pop stars to sing out against pirate music

     

       
     

    Post-festival passenger flow peaks

     

       
     

    Iran mosque fire kills 59, injures 250

     

       
     

    Bush requests $82B for Iraq, Afghan wars

     

       
     

    Illegal power plants to be cracked down

     

       
      Missile defense system fails another test
       
      Bush requests $82B for Iraq, Afghan wars
       
      Colombia, Venezuela floods death toll exceeds 80
       
      Iran mosque fire kills 59, injures 250
       
      Troops on alert in tense Lebanon after Hariri killing
       
      Maldives tsunami damage 62 percent of GDP: WB
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      News Talk  
      Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
    Advertisement
             
    狠狠精品久久久无码中文字幕| 中文字幕亚洲无线码| 日本欧美亚洲中文| 九九久久精品无码专区| 亚洲自偷自偷偷色无码中文 | 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区| 午夜无码一区二区三区在线观看| 亚洲爆乳无码一区二区三区| 天堂中文字幕在线| 久久99中文字幕久久| 无码精品人妻一区二区三区影院| 亚洲2022国产成人精品无码区| xx中文字幕乱偷avxx| 最近中文字幕在线中文高清版| 久久精品国产亚洲AV无码偷窥| 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区久久99| 亚洲欧美日韩在线中文字幕| 亚洲精品一级无码鲁丝片| 国产激情无码一区二区三区| 无码专区AAAAAA免费视频| 人妻无码人妻有码中文字幕| 日韩人妻无码精品无码中文字幕| 无码超乳爆乳中文字幕久久| 亚洲乱码中文字幕综合| 中中文字幕亚洲无线码| 五月婷婷无码观看| 亚洲午夜无码片在线观看影院猛| 午夜无码中文字幕在线播放| 久久亚洲av无码精品浪潮 | 少妇极品熟妇人妻无码| 国产a级理论片无码老男人| 四虎成人精品无码| 久久久久亚洲av无码专区喷水| 熟妇无码乱子成人精品| 精品少妇无码AV无码专区| 人妻无码一区二区三区AV| av无码免费一区二区三区| 在线看无码的免费网站| 色视频综合无码一区二区三区| 永久免费无码日韩视频| 欧美 亚洲 日韩 中文2019|