A U.N. inquiry said on Monday Syrian cooperation with its investigation into the murder of a former Lebanese prime minister was slow and urged Damascus to detain suspected Syrian officials. "Syria must detain those Syrian officials or individuals whom the commission considers as suspected of involvement in the planning, sponsoring, organizing or perpetrating of this terrorist act, and make them fully available to the commission," it said in a copy of the report to the Security Council obtained by Reuters.
The report added it had identified 19 suspects. It said five Syrian officials questioned by U.N. investigators in Vienna this month were among those suspects.
It complained that Damascus was trying to cast doubt on the investigation's findings, and claimed it had asked to interview a sixth Syrian official, also considered a suspect, but this was turned down. "This was, at the least, an attempt to hinder the investigation internally and procedurally," it said.
The report said statements made by two of the Syrian suspects "indicated that all Syrian intelligence documents concerning Lebanon had been burned."
