Isolated Syria

As expected, Detlev Mehlis’s UN report points the finger at Syria:

A UN inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri says many leads point to the direct involvement of Syrian officials.

UN investigators said they had also found evidence of Lebanese collusion in Mr Hariri’s death last February.

The report, prepared at the request of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, says the car bombing was carried out by a group with extensive organisation. […]

The BBC’s Ian Pannell in Damascus says it is widely believed that the Syrian authorities were angered by Mr Hariri’s growing opposition to their influence in Lebanon.

Although Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad constantly denies any involvement in the killing, the report will add to the sense of impending crisis felt in the country, our correspondent says.

Syria finds itself almost completely isolated, with little support from other Arab nations, and faces the prospect of crippling UN sanctions, he adds.