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Official wants more time in Hariri death probe

The head of the U.N. probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri requested Saturday that his mandate be extended a year.
/ Source: The Associated Press

The head of the U.N. probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri requested Saturday that his mandate be extended a year.

The report from Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz's investigators also notes that Syria — which had been accused of obstructing the probe — has cooperated in some respects.

Brammertz was expected to brief the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday — a day before his commission's mandate expires.

The council will consider extending his mandate by six months, as it has done previously, or accede to the longer, one-year request.

"Such extension would provide a sense of continuity and stability, enables progressive operations and planning, and offers assurances to staff," the report said.

Hariri and 22 other people were killed Feb. 14, 2005, in a massive explosion in Beirut. Four top Lebanese generals — key figures in Syria's long domination of Lebanon — have been arrested and charged with playing a role in the killing.