Two Lebanese brothers, both members of a Sunni Muslim fundamentalist sect, have been charged in connection with the murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, Lebanese judicial sources said today.

"The prosecutor general, Said Mirza, has charged the two brothers, Mahmud and Ahmed Abdel-Al of involvement ... concerning the assassination of Rafiq Hariri," a source has told the Associated Foreign Press.

According to a United Nations report into the killing released last week, Mahmud Abdel-Al telephoned Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese President, minutes before Mr Hariri and 22 others died in a truck bomb explosion in Beirut on February 14.

Mr Abdel-Al, a member of the El-Ahbash sect that is believed to have close ties with Syria, was arrested on Saturday. His brother Ahmed, a prominent figure in a pro-Syrian Lebanese charity, was arrested more than a month ago for alleged illegal possession of arms.

Today's announcement followed a meeting between Saad Hariri, the former Prime Minister's son, and Jacques Chirac, the French President, at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

The UN has accused Syria of leading a plot to assassinate the Lebanese premier and subsequently attempting to block its investigations.

Saad Hariri has appealed for France, the US and Britain not to push for sanctions against Syria if Damascus fails to co-operate with a UN investigation into the killing.

"No, I’m not for sanctions against Syria," he told reporters in English.

Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN special envoy on Syria-Lebanon, said Lebanon is witnessing a "momentous transition" following the withdrawal of Syrian troops which came in the aftermath of Mr Hariri's murder.

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