Assassination of Mohamad Chatah

Assassination of Mohamad Chatah
Location Beirut Central District, Beirut, Lebanon
Date 27 December 2013 (2013-12-27)
9:40 am (approximately)
Attack type
 Car bomb
Assassination
Deaths 8
Non-fatal injuries
 70

The assassination of Mohamad Chatah occurred on 27 December 2013 when a car bomb targeting a convoy detonated in Beirut Central District killing Chatah, his bodyguard, and four others. Chatah had previously served as Lebanon's finance minister and ambassador to the United States and was known as a leading critic of Hezbollah and the Assad regime among the country's political elite. Described as a political assassination, the killing was widely seen as a message to Lebanon's March 14 movement.[1]

Assassination

At approximately 9:40am on 27 December 2013, a massive bomb placed in a stolen Honda and weighing more than fifty kilograms detonated in downtown Beirut targeting the convoy of Mohamad Chatah. The blast instantly killed six people, including Chatah, and injured 70 others, of whom two later died, bringing the death toll to eight. The neighborhood in which the blast took place in was heavily damaged as well, with structural damage to nearby apartments and office buildings.[2][3][4][5]

Perpetrators

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, however it led to a spate of accusations being hurled by Lebanon's political actors. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, implied Hezbollah's culpability in the attack and said the killers, "are the ones who assassinated Rafiq Hariri; they are the ones who want to assassinate Lebanon."[6] The March 14 movement of which Chatah was a member, also blamed Hezbollah and Syria. However the group denied responsibility, characterizing the attack as only beneficial to Lebanon's enemies and called on the killers to be brought to justice. Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi denied the blame placed on Syria saying, "These wrong and arbitrary accusations are made in a context of political hatred".[7] The assassination came twenty days before a United Nations Special Tribunal was set to try four Hezbollah members for the 2005 killing of Rafik Hariri, who was also killed in a car bomb.[8]

Reactions

Domestic

Former prime minister Saad al-Hariri accused Hezbollah of involvement in the killing of Chatah, saying it was "a new message of terrorism". "As far as we are concerned the suspects... are those who are fleeing international justice and refusing to represent themselves before the international tribunal," Hariri said, referring to the upcoming trial in The Hague of five Hezbollah members suspected of assassinating his father Rafik in 2005.[9]

International

  • United Nations United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the bomb attack, and the 15-member UN Security Councilexpressed its "unequivocal condemnation of any attempt to destabilize Lebanon through political assassinations".
  • United States United States Secretary of State John Kerry said, "This is a terrible loss for Lebanon, the Lebanese people and for the United States."[9]
  • United Kingdom The British ambassador to Lebanon, Thomas Fletcher, said that Chatah "was a wise, tolerant, smart patriot" and that Lebanon should not let his killers "kill that moderation" which he represented.[10]
  • Syria Syria’s government of President Bashar al-Assad condemned the assassination.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Arabic, Carine TorbeyBBC (2013-12-27). "Beirut blast kills Sunni politician". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  2. ↑ Kenner, David (2013-12-27). "Killing Mohammad Chatah". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  3. ↑ Wood, Josh (2013-12-27). "Lebanon: Hezbollah critic Mohamad Chatah's murder blamed on Shia". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  4. ↑ "Beirut bombing death toll rises to eight". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. 2013-12-29. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  5. ↑ Editorial, Reuters (2013-12-27). "Beirut bomb kills Lebanese ex-minister who opposed Assad". U.S. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  6. ↑ "Hariri hints Hezbollah behind Shatah's killing". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  7. ↑ "Damascus denies involvement in Beirut blast". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  8. ↑ Yan, Saad Abedine. Holly; Basil, Yousuf (2013-12-27). "Lebanon's Mohamad Chatah, a Hezbollah foe, killed in blast". CNN. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  9. 1 2 Editorial, Reuters (2013-12-27). "Beirut bomb kills Lebanese ex-minister who opposed Assad". U.S. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  10. ↑ Chulov, Martin (2013-12-27). "Car bomb kills Mohamad Chatah, aide to ex-PM of Lebanon Saad Hariri". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  11. ↑ "Damascus denies involvement in Beirut blast". The Daily Star Newspapers - Lebanon. 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2018-02-05.

Coordinates: 33°54′01″N 35°30′06″E / 33.9003°N 35.5017°E / 33.9003; 35.5017

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