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Lebanon mourns murdered Hariri BEIRUT: Lebanon shut down yesterday to mourn former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was murdered in a huge car bomb blast on Monday. Mosque minarets across Beirut blared out readings from the Koran. Streets were deserted as schools, shops and offices shut for three days of official mourning. The Lebanese army went on alert ahead of Hariri's funeral, planned for today. A previously unknown Islamist group said it had carried out a suicide attack against Hariri, who also holds Saudi citizenship, because he supported the Saudi royal family. Hours later Lebanese security forces said they had raided the Beirut home of a man they identified as a Palestinian who had read the videotaped claim of responsibility. A security source said Ahmed Tayseer Abu Adas was not in the house. Hariri, 60, a Sunni Muslim billionaire who masterminded postwar reconstruction, was killed on Monday as his motorcade drove through Beirut's seafront luxury hotel district. Investigators found the engine block of the vehicle that carried the bomb, which security sources said had the explosive power of 300 kilograms of dynamite. The engine block had been hurled about 50 metres by the blast. At least 14 other people were killed and 135 wounded in the blast, the biggest in Lebanon since the end of the civil war and the most high-profile assassination. World leaders joined a chorus of condemnation of the assassination, describing the murder as a "terrorist attack" and renewing calls for peace. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly condemned the "brutal murder" and called the death of Hariri an immense loss to Lebanon, the region and the international community. The secretary-general also condemned in the strongest terms those who instigated, planned and executed the callous political assassination. The United States condemned the "brutal attack" on Hariri, and pledged to consult with other UN Security Council members about taking punitive measures against those responsible for the killing. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad condemned the blast as a "horrible terrorist act," and pledged support to "sisterly Lebanon during those dangerous situations" and he offered condolences to Hariri's and other victims' families. Syria still maintains troops in Lebanon. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa also deplored the assassination of Hariri and praised him as "a great and exceptional Arab personality who always defended Lebanon and its interests." Other countries, including Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Jordan, Britain, Spain, France, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Mexico, Bahrain, Yemen, Morocco, Sudan and Algeria also joined the condemnation, They also expressed wishes for political and social unity in Lebanon. (China Daily 02/16/2005 page1) |
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