 UN chief Investigator Detlev Mehlis was set to be granted a six week extension to his investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A New York-based UN source told The Daily Star Mehlis was due to meet with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan last night when he would be given until the end of October to finish his work in Lebanon and Syria. Mehlis is scheduled to visit Damascus on Saturday to interview Syrian officials who "played security roles" in Lebanon in the past 15 years.
| That'll be some interesting conversations. He might also want to check their bank accounts... |
A Lebanese diplomatic source said Mehlis would ask Annan to exert more pressure on Syria to allow him to interrogate highly ranked Syrian security and political officials. It is understood that Mehlis wants to question Syria's current interior minister Ghazi Kanaan, who formerly served as Damascus' military intelligence chief in Lebanon from 1982 to 2002. Kanaan's successor in Lebanon, Rustom Ghazali, and two key aides in Beirut, Mohammad Makhlouf and Jamaa Jamaa, are also on the list of people he wishes to interview. |