The Wire

Tensions between Syria and Lebanon remain high, with Syria expected to be the subject of another damning UN report this week, condemning the influence it has over its smaller neighbour. The document, due out this week, follows the tabling last week of a UN report into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, which implicated high ranking Syrian officials in the murder. The document – commissioned following the death of Mr Hariri and 20 others in a truck bombing in February – names senior Syrian security officials, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brother and brother-in-law, and their Lebanese allies. The US is expected to push for a tabling of the assassination report in the UN Security Council and to call for sanctions against the country in a bid to see the control Lebanon by Syria decreased. Dr Andrew Vincent is the Director of the Centre for Middle East and North African Studies at Macquarie University. Earlier, he outlined what long-term impact the two UN reports would have on for Syria and Lebanon.