In a huge car bomb in central Beirut on Friday 27 December finance minister of Saad Hariri, Mohammed Chatah along with 4 others were killed Chatah criticized Hizbullah and was driving Hariri's downtown residence when the bomb hit his car. Credit Lenziran Newsvideo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BEIRUT (Reuters) - Former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in a massive bomb blast which one of his political allies blamed on Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah militia. Friday's attack also killed five other people and threw Lebanon, which has been drawn into neighboring Syria's conflict, into further turmoil after a series of sectarian bombings aimed at Shi'ites and Sunnis over the past year. Former prime minister Saad al-Hariri accused Hezbollah of involvement in the killing of Chatah, his 62-year-old political adviser, saying it was "a new message of terrorism". "As far as we are concerned the suspects ... are those who are fleeing international justice and refusing to represent themselves before the international tribunal," Hariri said. Chatah's killing occurred three weeks before the long-delayed opening of a trial of five Hezbollah suspects indicted for the 2005 bombing which killed former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, Saad's father, and 21 other people. The trial is due to open in The Hague in January. The suspects are all fugitives and Hezbollah, which denies any role in the Hariri assassination, has refused to cooperate with the court, which it says is politically motivated. Preliminary U.N. investigations implicated Syrian officials. Chatah, a Sunni Muslim, was a vocal critic of Hezbollah. A message on his Twitter account less than an hour before the blast accused the group of trying to take control of the country. "Hezbollah is pressing hard to be granted similar powers in security and foreign policy matters that Syria exercised in Lebanon for 15 years," the tweet read. The conflict in Syria has polarized Lebanon and increased sectarian tensions. Hezbollah has sent fighters to Syria to fight alongside Assad, who is from the Alawite sect, a heterodox offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. Some of the Sunni Syrian rebel groups are linked to al Qaeda, which is also seeking to topple Assad. Former minister Marwan Hamadeh, who survived a car bomb in 2004, told Al Arabiya television: "Hezbollah will not be able to rule Lebanon, no matter how much destruction it causes or blood it spills." CONDEMNATION Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati and officials from across Lebanon's sectarian political divide condemned Chatah's killing. Mikati said the blast targeted "a moderate academic and noble political figure who believed in dialogue, the language of reason and the right to different views". Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar described the explosion as a crime. "We condemn this terrorist act," he told Hezbollah's Al Manar television. "It is part of a terrorist wave which the region and Lebanon are witnessing". While Chatah had no political power base of his own, his international experience, diplomatic contacts and academic analysis made him a key member of Hariri's circle of advisers. An economist and a diplomat, he worked for the International Monetary Fund in Washington and served as Lebanon's ambassador to the United States. He was also minister of finance from July 2008 to November 2009, after which he worked as a foreign policy adviser to the younger Hariri. Sources at the explosion site said Chatah was on his way to attend a meeting at Hariri's headquarters when the explosion tore through his car. Hariri himself has stayed away from Lebanon for more than two years, fearing for his safety. A Reuters witness said Chatah's car was "totally destroyed, it is a wreck." Chatah's identity card, torn and charred, was found at the scene. Iran, which backs Hezbollah, came under attack in Beirut last month. On November 19, two suicide bombings rocked the embassy compound, killing at least 25 people including an Iranian cultural attache. The sound of Friday's blast was heard across the city at around 9:40 a.m. (0740 GMT) and black smoke was seen rising in the chic downtown business and hotel district. It shattered glass in nearby apartment blocks and damaged cars, restaurants, coffee shops and offices. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/beirut-car-bomb-2013-12#ixzz2oh7OnTmJ

• published: 27 Dec 2013
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