UN urges independent Hariri probe

The Lebanese investigation has been dogged by controversy

A UN report into last month's killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has called for an international investigation to be carried out.

The report said Lebanon's own inquiry into the bomb attack in central Beirut was flawed and inconclusive.

The UN report did not specify who was behind the 14 February killing.

But it said Lebanon's security services and Syrian military intelligence bore primary responsibility for the lack of security at the time.

Syria bears primary responsibility for the political tension that preceded the assassination. UN report on the killing of Rafik Hariri

In response, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud called on the UN to "do what is necessary" to find Mr Hariri's killers.

But Syria's ambassador to the UN, Fayssal Mekdad, criticised the report, saying it contained "too much rhetoric" and was one-sided.

It comes as Lebanon commemorates 40 days since the assassination of Mr Hariri.

'Serious flaws'

The UN report - by Deputy Irish Police Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald - said the Lebanese inquiry was unsatisfactory.

Rafik Hariri had called for Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon

"The Lebanese investigation process suffers from serious flaws and has neither the capacity nor the commitment to reach a satisfactory and credible conclusion," it said.

"To find the truth it would be necessary to entrust the investigation to an international independent commission."

The report added that Lebanon's security services were unlikely to conduct an adequate inquiry under its current leadership.

The report looked at the cause of the explosion, which was initially blamed on a suicide bomber.

It found it was caused by explosives, most likely placed on the ground.

The Lebanese government has so far made no official statements about its own investigation into the assassination.

'Biased' report

Lebanon's opposition groups, many of whom supported Mr Hariri, have blamed Syrian intelligence agents or Lebanese allies for planting the bomb.

Although the report did not reach a direct conclusion over who was to blame, it did say that "the government of Syria bears primary responsibility for the political tension that preceded the assassination".

Ambassador Mekdad criticised the UN report as biased.

"He (Mr Fitzgerald) has taken one side against the other. It seems to me he met only with the opposition and those who wanted to accuse Syria of something."

Syria has pledged to withdraw troops and intelligence officers from Lebanon amid widespread international and domestic criticism of its long-standing role in the country.

The UN fact-finding mission in Lebanon followed a request by the Security Council for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.