Beirut, December 21: Shots were fired at a bus carrying Syrian workers in northern Lebanon on Monday, killing one of them, security sources said, shortly after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri patched up his relations with Damascus.
Syria denounced the attack while a member of Hariri’s bloc said it was aimed at disrupting policies of the Lebanese prime minister, who completed on Sunday a two-day visit to Damascus for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
These marked an end to nearly five years of animosity between Damascus and a broad political alliance led by Hariri.
“What happened is not just a simple incident … I think somebody is trying to create strife and disturb Hariri’s political direction,” Ahmed Fatfat, a member of parliament from Hariri’s bloc, told Lebanese TV channel LBC.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem described the shooting as a “criminal act”. In a telephone call to his Lebanese counterpart, he asked to be informed “as soon as possible” on the results of investigations into the attack, Syria’s state news agency (SANA) reported.
Beirut’s ties with Damascus hit rock bottom after Hariri’s alliance accused Syria of assassinating Saad’s father, Rafik al-Hariri, in February 2005. They also blamed Damascus for attacking and killing other politicians and journalists.
Syria denies the allegations. A special court has yet to indict anyone for the killing.
Outrage in Lebanon over the assassination and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April 2005, ending three decades of military presence in its smaller neighbour.
Saad al-Hariri’s coalition has often clashed in the past with Syria’s allies in Lebanon, led by the powerful Iranian-backed group Hezbollah.
Rapprochement between Syria and Saudi Arabia, which backs Hariri, earlier this year eased tension and allowed Hariri, who won a parliamentary election in June, to form a unity government that includes Hezbollah and other Damascus allies.
—Agencies