An Australian citizen and French citizen from a United Nations team investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were pursued by a mob in southern Beirut on Wednesday, and had their files stolen.
The incident took place as the two visited a clinic, where they were looking for phone numbers. As they waited for a doctor to turn over the information, a mob of dozens of angry women burst in the door and began shouting insults at the two and at their translator.
The three escaped without injury, but a briefcase with some files was stolen.
Southern Beirut is largely dominated by Iranian puppet militia Hizbullah, and the neighborhood in which the incident took place is considered a Hizbullah stronghold. Hizbullah strongly opposes the UN-backed probe into Hariri's death. The probe is rumored to have found evidence linking Hizbullah to the killing.
MP Yassine Jaber of Amal, a party allied with Hizbullah, said the attack was proof that the international probe into the assassination is “not welcome.”
The probe, known as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), was established by the UN at the request of the Lebanese government. It is backed by many Sunni Muslims in Lebanon, but there are some who fear it will lead to sectarian clashes. Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of Rafik Hariri, has given the tribunal his support, while Hizbullah, which is part of the ruling coalition, has warned that a foreign investigation could set off violence.
Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah has blamed Israel for the Hariri affair, and says his organization was framed.
Rafik Hariri and 22 others were murdered in 2005 by a powerful car bomb. Hariri had fought Syrian influence in Lebanon, and Syria and its allies - among them Hizbullah - have been suspect in the case.