July 29, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Assad tells Hariri to keep STL fears in check, says As-Safir

As-Safir newspaper reported on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad advised Prime Minister Saad Hariri not to let some Lebanese public figures aggravate matters related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).

According to the daily, Assad told Hariri during their meeting earlier this month in Damascus that the Lebanese should avoid accusing Hezbollah of being involved in the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri.

Tensions are high in Lebanon after Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah questioned the credibility of the STL in several speeches earlier this month.

In a July 16 speech, the Hezbollah chief called the tribunal an “Israeli project” designed to create sectarian conflict in the country. Last Thursday, he claimed Hezbollah members would be named in the STL’s pending indictment. The announcement prompted fears that a sectarian conflict similar to the May 7 events in 2008 could once again break out.