U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said a more in-depth investigation may be needed into the murder of martyred Prime Minister Rafic al-Hariri than a U.N. report due to be released shortly. In a speech to Arab leaders meeting in Algiers, the UN Secretary General said a United Nations team, headed by Irish police commissioner Peter Fitzgerald, would report to him on its fact-finding mission in Lebanon.
"Within the next few days, I expect to release the report of the mission of inquiry I established in the wake of the killing. A more comprehensive investigation may well also be necessary," Mr. Annan told the Arab League summit. The UN Secretary General is expected to report to the Security Council on the team’s findings. The slain former Premier was killed in a bomb attack on his motorcade in Beirut on February 14.
"The vicious assassination,” Mr. Annan said, “was a severe blow." He also told Arab leaders that Mr. Hariri "was a Lebanese patriot, a formidable statesman and a vital presence in the international community.”
The U.N. fact-finding mission into the slain leader’s murder was sparked by Security Council anger at the assassination.