عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Saniora Asks Hezbollah to Hand Over Convicts Accused In Rafik Hariri’s Assassination

Former Lebanese PM Fouad Saniora. File Photo NNA
Former Lebanese PM Fouad Saniora. File Photo NNA
TT
TT

Saniora Asks Hezbollah to Hand Over Convicts Accused In Rafik Hariri’s Assassination

Former Lebanese PM Fouad Saniora. File Photo NNA
Former Lebanese PM Fouad Saniora. File Photo NNA

Lebanese former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora asked on Friday Hezbollah to immediately hand over two Hezbollah members convicted this week on charges of terrorism and murder for their role in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

On Thursday, the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) appeals chamber overturned the acquittals of two members of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group in the 2005 assassination of Hariri.

The five-judge appeals panel at STL convicted Hassan Habib Merhi and Hussein Hassan Oneissi of five charges linked to the assassination, including conspiracy to commit a terrorist act and being accomplices to intentional homicide.

In December 2020, the STL had ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict Oneissi and Merhi. It convicted a former member of Hezbollah, Salim Jamil Ayyash, for the bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others at the Beirut seafront.

Ayyash and the two new Hezbollah convicts have been tried in absentia and remain at large.

On Friday, Saniora praised the STL’s new verdict.

“This development is proof that we were right to resort to the STL to try the criminals behind this heinous crime, as it becomes certain each day that Lebanon’s judiciary is unable to investigate several crimes, the latest of which is the flagrant inability to make any progress in probing the crime of the Beirut port blast,” the former PM said in a statement.

He said that the STL’s verdict reveals Hezbollah’s involvement in the assassination of Rafik Hariri and exposes the falseness of the party’s allegations and practices against Lebanon and the Lebanese.

“The verdict obligates Hezbollah to hand over the criminals without any delay,” he stressed.

Former PM Saad Hariri, the son of the slain premier, also demanded that Hezbollah hands the convicts over when the verdict was announced, accusing the party of “covering up” the crime and “protecting criminals.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Türkiye Sends Massive Reinforcements to Syria’s Idlib, Aleppo

Military reinforcements on the way to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Türkiye and Syria (Turkish media)
Military reinforcements on the way to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Türkiye and Syria (Turkish media)
TT
TT

Türkiye Sends Massive Reinforcements to Syria’s Idlib, Aleppo

Military reinforcements on the way to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Türkiye and Syria (Turkish media)
Military reinforcements on the way to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Türkiye and Syria (Turkish media)

Türkiye has sent massive military reinforcements to its military positions in eastern Idlib and the western Aleppo countryside, within the de-escalation zones in northwestern Syria, known as the "Putin-Erdogan" agreement zones.

A Turkish military convoy consisting of more than 75 vehicles, including troop carriers, armored vehicles transporting soldiers, and trucks loaded with logistical and military supplies, entered through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Türkiye. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Friday, these new reinforcements were distributed across Turkish military points in eastern Aleppo countryside.

This marked the second batch of Turkish reinforcements in less than 24 hours. On Thursday, the Turkish military brought in a convoy of 15 vehicles carrying weapons and soldiers, including closed trucks, accompanied by Turkish intelligence vehicles, through the Bab al-Hawa crossing. These reinforcements were directed to Turkish positions in the town of al-Atarib and its surroundings in the western Aleppo countryside.

The new reinforcements come amid ongoing attacks and targeting by the Syrian army within the de-escalation zone in Idlib.

These areas have witnessed escalating clashes and mutual attacks for over two months between Syrian forces and the Fatah al-Mubeen factions, resulting in casualties on both sides.

The Syrian Observatory recorded 346 military and civilian deaths across 307 incidents in the "Putin-Erdogan" zones since the start of 2024, including attacks, sniper operations, clashes, and armed drone strikes. More than 129 soldiers and 157 civilians, including five women and 35 children, were wounded to varying degrees.

In a related context, the village of Kabashin, in the Shirwa district of Afrin, north of Aleppo, within the Olive Branch zone controlled by Turkish forces and factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, was shelled with mortars from areas where the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian army are stationed in the northern Aleppo countryside.

The Syrian Observatory also reported attacks between the SDF and Turkish forces, along with their allied factions, on fronts in northern and eastern Aleppo countryside. On Thursday, five mortar shells landed near a Turkish base around the Abu al-Zandin crossing in eastern Aleppo’s al-Bab countryside, part of the Euphrates Shield zone under Turkish and allied factions’ control, originating from Syrian army positions in Aleppo’s countryside. The Turkish base responded to the source of the shelling with heavy artillery.

Turkish forces and factions also targeted the villages of Sheikh Issa and Harbel with heavy artillery, areas where the SDF and Syrian army are stationed in the northern Aleppo countryside.