BICOM

A report in the respected Arabic newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat yesterday said that the STL – the United Nations Special Tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri – is set to indict five Hezbollah members. The names of the five were not included in the report. It suggested, however, that STL personnel would ask to interrogate the suspects in the coming days. Neither STL nor Lebanese government officials would comment on the report. If it is accurate, this will represent an important development both in the long saga of the tribunal, and in the wider Lebanese political situation. Hezbollah and its allies toppled the government in January because of then-prime minister Saad Hariri’s refusal to end cooperation and support for the tribunal. Any attempts to apprehend Hezbollah members may trigger a new internal crisis in Lebanon.