 The government removed the country's top prosecutor and another security chief yesterday, and replaced two other security chiefs who had stepped aside earlier in a campaign to purge the administration of pro-Syrian officials two days after Syria withdrew its army from Lebanon. Prime Minister Najib Mikati's Cabinet also appointed a new police commander and a new head of military intelligence. The removal of the country's pro-Syrian security chiefs and the prosecutor-general had been a key demand of the anti-Syrian opposition.
| You might say Mikati's been mene tekeled... |
A UN fact-finding mission that traveled to Beirut in March also suggested that the security chiefs be replaced ahead of an international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In an initial report, the fact-finding mission found Lebanon's own probe seriously flawed and declared Syria, with its troop presence, primarily responsible for the political tension preceding the assassination. The report called for a new international investigation. |