Hariri death: US warns Syria
2005-02-14 22:28
Washington - The United States on Monday angrily condemned the assassination of Lebanese former prime minister Rafiq Hariri and seized on the slaying to ratchet up efforts to end Syria's military presence in Lebanon.
President George W Bush "was shocked and angered" by the massive bombing that killed Hariri and at least nine other people, said White House spokesperson Scott McClellan.
"This murder today is a terrible reminder that the Lebanese people must be able to pursue their aspirations and determine their own political future free from violence and intimidation and free from Syrian occupation," he said.
Washington planned to reach out immediately to its allies, governments in the region, and the UN security council to "punish those responsible" for the killing and to free Lebanon "from foreign occupation", said the spokesperson.
McClellan stressed that it was "premature" to say who was to blame.
It was unclear precisely what steps Washington, which has long accused Syria of sponsoring international terrorism and turning a blind eye to anti-American insurgents crossing the border into neighbouring Iraq, would seek.
Hariri's assassination came at a time of high political tension in Lebanon and international pressure over Syria's dominance in its political affairs, just a few months before legislative elections are due to be held.
Syria retains 14 000 troops in Lebanon from a deployment first launched in 1976.
The attack on Hariri was swiftly condemned by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a "terrible criminal act", the official news agency SANA said.
US officials had no immediate reaction to France's call for an international inquiry into who carried out the attack.