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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: Khalilzad demands disarmament of Hizbullah The US ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday that Hizbullah must "immediately" disarm and urged member states to "generously support" the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "I would like to underscore our deep concern about the illegal arms transfers across the Syrian-Lebanese border, and in particular claims by Hizbullah that it has replenished its military capacity since the summer 2006 war," US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told the 15-member Security Council. "Hizbullah must disarm, and it must do so now," in accordance with resolutions 1559 and 1701, Khalilzad added during the monthly meetings of the UN Security Council on the Middle East. On the court that will try the suspects in Hariri's assassination and related crimes, the ambassador said: "I urge all council members to generously support the tribunal as a clear signal that the international community backs the effort of the Lebanese people to end the era of impunity for political assassinations in their country." He reiterated support to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government and pointed the finger at Syria and its allies in Lebanon for obstructing the election of a new president. "Although the Lebanese agree on a candidate, Syria and its allies within Lebanon are using other preconditions to perpetuate the political stalemate. "It should be clear, however, until a new president takes office, the United States has full confidence in, and fully supports, the legitimate Lebanese government in managing the affairs of the state and the Lebanese armed forces in continuing to provide security," Khalilzad said. He also questioned the value of the council's meetings on the Middle East, saying the angry speeches delivered often made the problem worse. "The polarization and divisions of the United Nations membership over the conflict all too often manifest themselves as heated political statements," he argued. These "do little to help advance the cause of peace or help the Palestinian people in any tangible way," he added. In separate developments, an Israeli newspaper reported on Wednesday that what is described as Syria's reticence in blaming Israel for the assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh "indicates that the issue is causing some friction between Syria and the Shiite group." The Jerusalem Post said Syria was not pointing the finger at Israel despite Hizbullah's claims of being "100 percent" sure that the Jewish state was involved in the February 12 car bombing in Damascus that killed Mughniyeh. According to Israeli assessments, the paper said, Damascus' "silence" may be an indication that the investigation has revealed information that could be very embarrassing to Syria, such as the involvement of Syrian nationals in the assassination - even if they were not at all connected to the government - or the involvement of agents from other Arab states. If Syria has information linking the killing to another Arab state, it would likely hold on to that information until after the Arab League summit in Damascus later this week, in order not to do anything to further undermine the event, The Jerusalem Post said. The 40 days of mourning for Mughniyeh ended on Saturday, and Israel has raised its level of alert worldwide out of fear that Hizbullah will avenge the hit. On Monday Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, renewed his vow to retaliate for the death of Mughniyeh. "The one who killed our commander must be punished. The killers must be punished, and they will be punished, God willing," Nasrallah told a rally in Beirut to commemorate Mughniyeh. "We will choose the time, place and manner of punishment." - Agencies
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