Reply #10: Lebanon indictments unleash claims of betrayal

[bemildred]

BEIRUT (AP) — The son of assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri accused Lebanon's new premier Monday of bowing to pressure from Hezbollah, which is refusing to turn over four members indicted by a U.N.-backed tribunal for the truck bombing that killed the Lebanese statesman in 2005.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati fired back, suggesting Saad Hariri — himself a former prime minister — was trying to exploit his father's death for political gain and tear apart the country.

The implication of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in one of Lebanon's most stunning crimes threatens to bring a new and violent crisis in this Arab nation on Israel's northern border. The Shiite militant group denies any role in the killing and vows never to turn over any of its members.

But the pro-Western bloc, led by Saad Hariri, said in a statement that Hezbollah is holding the country hostage by making it choose between justice and stability. Hezbollah — the dominant player in Lebanon's new government — commands an arsenal that far outweighs that of the national army.

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