U.N. opens prosecution over Hariri assassination

BEIRUT, Lebanon  The United Nations Sunday launched a special tribunal to prosecute the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.The tribunal convened at The Hague more than four years after Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005. The bomb, detonated as Hariri's armored motorcade passed through Beirut's fashionable seaside Corniche district, contained hundreds of pounds of explosives. It left buildings shattered and streets littered with the mangled wreckage of vehicles. The blast also killed 22 other people. The Lebanese army was out in force on the streets of Beirut Sunday as people turned out to pay their respects to Hariri, who is buried downtown in the Lebanese capital. The U.N. tribunal will have 11 judges, whose identities are being kept secret for their safety. Four will be Lebanese. The prosecution could take as long as 10 years, sources close to the tribunal said. Four senior Lebanese generals are being held over the bombing, which also killed 22 other people. But many Lebanese -- as well as the United States and U.N. investigators -- believe Syria ordered the assassination. Syria denies it. The tribunal's prosecutor, Daniel Bellemare, refused to commit when asked at a news conference Sunday if Syrians would be charged. He said the public would have to wait and see.