US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for bringing the killers of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to justice.
On the 15th anniversary of Hariri’s assassination in a car bomb explosion on the Beirut seafront, Pompeo described the killing as an “act of mass murder that resulted in the deaths of 21 others and injuries of 266 victims.”
“Multiple Hezbollah-linked individuals were indicted for their roles in this terrorist attack and must finally be brought to justice. Ending impunity is imperative to ensuring Lebanon’s security, stability, and sovereignty,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Pompeo said Washington backs the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) to hold accountable those responsible for the attack.
“Hezbollah has demonstrated through its terrorist and illicit activities that it is more concerned with its own interests and those of its patron, Iran, than what is best for the Lebanese people,” he stated.
The US “continues to stand proudly with the Lebanese people in their peaceful calls for reform, transparency, and accountability,” Pompeo added.
Several Hezbollah members have been indicted in Hariri’s murder case. They have never been arrested but they are charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, along with a number of other related charges.
