The United States and France are reportedly planning on implementing further sanctions against Syria and President Bashar El Assad within a matter of days.
The announcement came after emergency talks were held on Tuesday between US. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Terje Roed-Larsen to discuss the recent arrest of several pro-Syrian security chiefs in connection with the murder of former Lebanese President Rafik Hariri, according to media press reports.
An upcoming visit to Beirut scheduled for Larsen and European Union Secretary-General Javier Solana was postponed due to the developments in Lebanon, described as "dramatic and surprising" by one US source.
Manwhile, one suspect detained by Lebanese authorities this in connection with Hariri's murder was set free on Wednesday after being acquitted of charges.
Nasser Kandil, one of the five men held for suspicions of involvement in the February bombing in Beirut, was dismissed by the special UN commission investigating the matter.
According to the AP, Kandil told reporters, "I don't want to talk about this issue…the information I gave (the investigators) belongs to the probe."
The five suspects were all pro-Syrian figures, including a top aide to Lebanon's president and three former security chiefs.
The five detainees were the first suspects arrested in the killing, which brought about mass public outrage in Lebanon and hastened the departure of Syrian troops after three decades.
The former president's son and parliament member, Saad Hariri, told reporters that "The detentions in Beirut are the beginning of justice," He added that there would be more detentions.
One of the suspects, Republican Guard commander Brigadier General Mustafa Hamdan, went to the headquarters of the UN investigating team on his own accord.
Hamdan is a close aide of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, and the only pro-Syrian security official to keep his job after June elections which established an anti-Syrian majority. Lahoud defended Hamdan as a loyal officer who had saved his life during the 1975-1990 civil war.
The UN team is expected to report its findings to the Security Council in the next few weeks. The head of the team, German Prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, has no plans as yet to go to Syria to interrogate five senior officials in connection of the Hariri assassination.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
