• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

CHRONOLOGY: Events in Lebanon since Hariri's killing

Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:09am EST

(Reuters) - At least three people were killed in an explosion which damaged a U.S. diplomatic car in Beirut on Tuesday and wounded a passenger, security sources said.

World

Here is a chronology of some of the main events in Lebanon since former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was killed, along with 22 other people, on February 14, 2005.

February 28, 2005 - Pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami resigns.

March 5 - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tells his parliament Syrian troops will start phased pullout from Lebanon.

April 26 - Last Syrian soldiers leave Lebanon.

June 2 - Samir Kassir, journalist opposed to Syria's role in Lebanon, is killed in Beirut by a bomb in his car.

June 16 - U.N. investigation into Hariri's killing starts.

June 19 - Lebanese parliamentary elections end in victory for anti-Syrian alliance led by Hariri's son Saad al-Hariri.

June 21 - Former Communist Party leader and critic of Syria George Hawi is killed in Beirut by a bomb in his car.

October 20 - U.N. investigators, in report to U.N. Security Council, say high-ranking Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies were involved in Hariri's killing. Syria denies it.

December 12 - Gebran Tueni, anti-Syrian member of parliament and Lebanese newspaper magnate, is killed by a car bomb near Beirut.

July 12, 2006 - Hezbollah captures two Israeli soldiers in cross-border raid, setting off 34-day war in which about 1,200 Lebanese are killed.

November 11 - Five pro-Syrian Shi'ite Muslim ministers from Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, resign after collapse of all-party talks on their demand for more say in government.

November 21 - Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel is killed by gunmen. U.N. Security Council approves plans for tribunal to try suspects in assassination of Hariri and subsequent attacks.

December 1 - Hezbollah, Amal and supporters of Christian leader Michel Aoun camp outside Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's office in central Beirut in open-ended campaign to topple government.

January 25, 2007 - Aid conference in Paris pledges more than $7.6 billion to help Lebanon recover from the war.

February 13 - Three people are killed in two bomb blasts near a Christian village northeast of Beirut.

June 13 - Anti-Syrian parliamentarian Walid Eido and five other people killed by a car bomb near a Beirut beach club.

September 2 - Lebanese troops seize complete control of Nahr al-Bared camp after months of fighting with Fatah al-Islam militants. More than 420 people, including 168 soldiers, have been killed in the worst internal violence since the civil war.

September 19 - Car bomb in Beirut kills seven people, including anti-Syrian Christian lawmaker Antoine Ghanem.

September 25 - Parliament postpones a presidential election for the first of 12 times in a bid to break a deadlock over a consensus candidate and to end the political crisis. France leads mediation efforts for a deal on a presidential candidate.

November 23 - President Emile Lahoud leaves presidential palace at the end of his term, without a successor.

November 24 - Siniora says his cabinet is assuming executive powers in the absence of a president.

December 5 - Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri says rival Lebanese leaders have agreed on General Michel Suleiman as president.

December 12 - Car bomb kills Brigadier General Francois al-Hajj, the army's head of operations, and a number of bodyguards in a Christian town east of Beirut.

January 8, 2008 - Two U.N. peacekeeping soldiers are slightly wounded when their vehicle hits a roadside bomb near Rmaileh village south of Beirut.

Jan 11 - Lebanon delays its presidential vote in parliament again, to January 21.

Jan 15 - A car bomb attack in a Christian area of Beirut kills at least three people and wounds 16, in an explosion that damaged a U.S. embassy car and destroyed others.

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)



More from Reuters

Volvo Cars says sale to Geely not yet finalized

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - U.S. carmaker Ford has not yet inked a deal to sell its Volvo Cars unit to China's Zhejiang Geely a spokesman for Volvo said, after Swedish television reported on Wednesday an agreement had been signed.

Malaysians participate in computer attack and defence hacking competition during The 3rd Annual Hack-In-The-Box Security Conference 2004 in Kuala Lumpur on October 6, 2004. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad
Commentary:

Year of the breach

Data security breaches are nasty business and should be avoided at all costs, writes Kevin Prince, a chief technology officer at Perimeter e-Security. Here's a look at the biggest breaches and blunders of 2009.  Commentary 

A condominium under construction is seen in Miami, Florida October 15, 2007. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Booming in the bust

For most Americans, the housing market collapsed about four years ago. For three real estate heavyweights, it's just getting started.  Full Article