DAMASCUS, 18 February 2005 — President George W. Bush yesterday demanded Syria pull its troops out of Lebanon as the family of murdered former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri called for an internationally led investigation into his assassination on Monday. With the Lebanese opposition pointing a finger at Damascus, there were reports of violence against Syrian workers in Lebanon.

Police said gunmen sprayed a truck carrying about 20 Syrian workers with machine-gun fire on Wednesday night in the town of Irsal but without injuring them. However, the gang beat up the workers and stole about $600 in cash from them. Groups of Syrian workers have also came under attack in Hariri’s hometown of Sidon.

“We call upon the international community to promptly take control of this issue and form an international investigation commission, since the assassination of Rafik Hariri is a terrorist act targeting Lebanon’s stability and national unity,” said a statement released by Hariri’s family.

“We will not spare any effort or means to find the perpetrators of this crime no matter what their affiliation is,” the statement added.

Lebanon’s government opposes a foreign-led investigation into the blast that killed Hariri and 16 others. It has, however, verbally requested foreign investigators, including Swiss forensic and explosives experts, to assist the inquiry. Many Lebanese, including Hariri’s supporters, accuse Syria and the Lebanese government of orchestrating the attack and fear a domestic probe will lead nowhere. Both governments have denied any involvement.

Lebanese Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh, who paid a condolence call to Hariri’s home yesterday, later renewed his government’s opposition to calls for an international investigation. “We have said that we can seek help from international experts. But we cannot abandon our role and bring in (foreign) states to investigate,” he said.

In Washington, President Bush said he would seek support from European leaders next week to put more pressure on Damascus to pull out its troops from Lebanon.

“Syria is out of step with the progress being made in the greater Middle East,” Bush told a news conference. He said it was too early to conclude that Syria had a role in killing Hariri. Washington has used the outrage prompted by the assassination to intensify pressure it was already bringing on Damascus to withdraw from Lebanon.

Bush said Washington expected Syria to adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the removal of the Syrian troops, and said, “we expect them to help free and fair elections to take place in Lebanon.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States favored diplomatic pressure to resolve its differences with Syria and had many options, but had not ruled out military force. “The president always reserves his options,” Rice told a Senate committee when asked about the possibility of an attack on Syria.

— Additional input from agencies