Dispute over investigation into Hariri assassination
Lebanon’s governing coalition is no more after 11 ministers representing the powerful Hezbollah movement and its political allies resigned and called on President Michel Suleiman to form a new government. The wave of resignations was enough to bring down Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, the son of slain leader Rafiq Hariri. The standoff between Hariri and his Hezbollah ministers centres around an ongoing investigation by the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) into the elder Hariri’s assassination. Hezbollah wants Saad al-Hariri to disavow the STL as part of a U.S.-Israeli plot. The resignations come amidst unconfirmed reports the STL is set to indict senior Hezbollah members in connection with the 2005 assassination.