Timeline: Events since al-Hariri’s death

Here is a chronology of events in Lebanon since Rafiq al-Hariri, the former prime minister, was killed.

Protests and attacks have followed Rafiq al-Hariri's death

14 February 2005: Al-Hariri killed by truck bomb in Beirut.

16 February: At least 150,000 Lebanese turn al-Hariri’s funeral into outpouring of anger against Syria.

28 February: Omar Karami, the Lebanese prime minister, resigns amid anti-Syrian protests.

5 March: Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, tells Syrian parliament that troops will start phased pullout from Lebanon.

7 March: Al-Assad and Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese president, meet in Damascus and say they respect all UN Security Council resolutions, including one demanding foreign forces quit Lebanon.

Beirut streets were flooded by a series of demonstrations
Beirut streets were flooded by a series of demonstrations

Beirut streets were flooded by a
series of demonstrations

8 March: Lebanese flood central Beirut for pro-Syrian rally organised by Hizb Allah. Syrian troops begin redeploying.

10 March: Lahoud reappoints Karami to form government.

14 March: Anti-Syrian protesters stage Lebanon’s biggest demonstration since al-Hariri’s killing.

19 March: Bomb in Christian suburb of Beirut wounds 11 people.

23 March: Bomb kills three people in Christian town of Kaslik north of Beirut.

13 April: Karami resigns again after failing to form cabinet to supervise parliamentary elections.

15 April: Lahoud appoints moderate Syrian ally Najib Miqati as prime minister-designate.

19 April: Miqati forms government.

25 April: Jamil al-Sayyed, a pro-Syrian security chief, resigns.

26 April: Last Syrian soldiers leave Lebanon.

Former general Michel Aoun hadbeen in exile in France
Former general Michel Aoun hadbeen in exile in France

Former general Michel Aoun had
been in exile in France

7 May: Michel Aoun, a former general and Maronite Christian, returns to a hero’s welcome after 14 years in exile.

15 May: Saad al-Hariri, son of assassinated former prime minister, unveils his candidate list for elections.

23 May: UN team verifies withdrawal of Syrian troops.

2 June: Samir Kassir, a journalist opposed to Syria’s role in Lebanon, is killed by a bomb placed in his car in Beirut.

19 June: Parliamentary elections end after four rounds of voting. Alliance led by al-Hariri wins 72 seats in 128-member assembly. Miqati steps down.

21 June: George Hawi, a former Communist Party leader and critic of Syria, is killed by bomb placed in his car in Beirut.

30 June: Lahoud designates Fuad Siniora, former finance minister nominated by anti-Syrian legislators, as prime minister.

12 July: Car bomb wounds Elias al-Murr, the caretaker defence minister, and kills two people in Christian suburb north of Beirut.

30 August: Four pro-Syrian former security chiefs are detained as suspects in Rafiq al-Hariri’s killing and later charged with murder.

 

20 September: UN investigators go to Damascus to interview Syrian officials, including Ghazi Kanaan, the interior minister.

 

25 September: May Chidiac, a Christian television journalist critical of Syria, is seriously wounded by bomb in her car.

 

Gebran Tueni is killed by a car bomb in Beirut
Gebran Tueni is killed by a car bomb in Beirut

Gebran Tueni is killed by a car
bomb in Beirut

12 October: Syrian state news agency announces that Kanaan has committed suicide in his office in Damascus.

 

20 October: UN investigators, in report to UN Security Council, say high-ranking Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies were involved in al-Hariri’s killing.

 

10 November: Al-Assad launches a scathing attack on Lebanon‘s leaders, accusing them of turning their country into a hotbed of conspiracy against Damascus.

 

7 December: UN investigators complete questioning five Syrian officials in Vienna in connection with the al-Hariri assassination.

 

12 December: Gebran Tueni, staunchly anti-Syrian member of parliament and Lebanese newspaper magnate, is killed by a car bomb in Beirut.

 

19 January 2006: Serge Brammertz, deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, arrives in Beirut to succeed Detlev Mehlis as head of the UN investigation.

 

12 January: Abdel-Halim Khaddam, the former Syrian vice-president, accuses al-Assad of ordering al-Hariri’s killing.

Syria says UN investigators investigating the al-Hariri killing cannot meet the Syrian president.

 

11 February: Saad al-Hariri returns to Lebanon more than six months after he left because of security worries.

 

14 February: About 500,000 gather in central Beirut to mark the first anniversary of al-Hariri’s assassination.

Source: Reuters