United Nations Radio

The head of the international commission investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, asked the UN Security Council today for more time to complete the investigation, beyond the current deadline of June 15th.

Daniel Bellemare (photo) who took over as Commissioner in January, told the Council that the Commission's mandate is complex and is being conducted in a volatile environment with continuing deadly attacks. Mr. Bellemare said he now has evidence that a criminal network, referred to as the Hariri network, was responsible for the terrorist attack that killed Prime Minister Hariri and 22 others in 2005.

"The Commission has also gathered evidence that the Hariri Network existed before the Hariri assassination; that it conducted surveillance of Mr. Hariri before his assassination; that it operated on the day of Mr. Hariri's assassination and that at least part of the network continued to exist and operate after Mr. Hariri's assassination."

The President of the Security Council said the Council members welcomed the progress in the investigation and would consider extending the mandate of the Commission for another six months.