Ambassador: Syria not involved in Hasan killing

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali said Wednesday his country had nothing to do with the assassination of a slain general who died in a car bomb in Ashrafieh last week, the National News Agency reported. “Syria is busy with its own local crisis. It had nothing to do with the assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan,” the ambassador said following a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour. Ali said his country condemns the attack, and also denounces all political assassinations in Lebanon. “I warned earlier... It is in no one’s benefit to address a political accusation against Syria. This will damage the brotherly ties between the two countries,” he said. The ambassador also said Israel is the chief beneficiary of provoking chaos in Lebanon. “Fundamentalist groups might also be behind Hasan’s killing, especially as they are trying to destroy the whole region,” said the ambassador. Hasan was a senior Intelligence official who uncovered evidence of a plot involving former Lebanese minister Michel Samaha and Syrian National Security Bureau head Ali Mamlouk to transfer explosives from Syria to Lebanon and carry out a series of assassinations in the country. The March 14 coalition is blaming Syria for Hasan’s killing and asking for an international investigation into the crime. From: The Daily Star