Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam who arrived in Beirut earlier on Friday to check on the health of Lebanese MP Marwan Hamadeh, who had survived an assassination attempt today said “the crime is targeting civil peace in Lebanon.” Khaddam said the Syrian President was shocked at the news, adding that Hamadeh “had deployed great efforts to achieve civil peace in Lebanon and to strengthen Syrian-Lebanese relations.” “All the Lebanese and those who love Lebanon condemn this crime and wish peace and stability for Lebanon,” he said. Asked whether there are foreign hands behind the attempt, Khaddam said “It is difficult to point to any direction before the end of the investigation.” Syria had condemned the assassination attempt, saying that it came at a critical time and it was clear that it was intended to to destabilize Lebanon. Hamadeh, a former minister of commerce and economy, suffered injuries in the face in the attempt on his life, while his two bodyguards were killed. After visiting Hamadeh, Khaddam met head of the Socialist Progressist Party walid Junblat.
