Stricken by political paralysis and rocked by a wave of bombings and Islamist violence, Lebanon’s prospects for stability look bleak in the coming months as a UN investigation into the murder of a former Lebanese prime minister draws closer to naming the culprits.

The UN Security Council gave a significant boost to the investigation on Wednesday by voting to establish an international tribunal to judge the killers of Rafik Hariri, who died in a massive lorry bomb explosion on St Valentine’s Day 2005, as well as a series of other assassinations of anti-Syrian figures and bomb attacks.

The UN took the rare step after the tribunal’s fate became mired in Lebanon’s political crisis pitting the Western-backed Government against the pro-Syrian opposition.

The UN investigation has implicated senior Syrian officials in Hariri’s murder, but Damascus has denied strenuously any involvement.

Minutes after the UN vote was aired live on Lebanese television, jubilant supporters of Saad Hariri, the former Prime Minister’s son and political heir, ignored a one-night curfew to take to the streets of Beirut and celebrate with dancing and fireworks.

In a televised address, a tearful Mr Hariri said that the tribunal was the “gateway to justice”.

“We do not lust for revenge. We only want justice and wish to learn the truth . . . This tribunal concerns all of the Lebanese, and will make Lebanon immune to the terrorist killing wave that has been hitting Lebanon,” he said.

Syria maintains that the tribunal is a political tool used by the United States to exert more pressure on the regime in Damascus. Syrian officials have said that Damascus will not cooperate with the tribunal and that any Syrian national accused by the UN investigation will be tried in Syria.

A statement released by the Syrian Government gave warning that the adoption of the tribunal “could cause the situation [in Lebanon] to become worse”.

Hezbollah, the powerful Shia Muslim militant group supported by Syria and Iran, denounced the UN move as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

“It amounts to a flagrant violation that makes the resolution illegal and illegitimate at the national and international level,” the group said in a statement.

The tribunal – which arose from an agreement between the UN and Lebanon – was approved formally by the Lebanese Government in November. But its ratification in parliament was blocked by Nabih Berri, the Speaker, because he says the Government is illegitimate.

The impasse was broken last month when Fouad Siniora, the Prime Minister, requested the UN sidestep Lebanese parliamentary approval by adopting the tribunal under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which allows for the use of military force to implement UN resolutions. In an attempt to mollify critics, the UN resolution gives a last-chance deadline of June 10 for the Lebanese parliament to ratify the tribunal, whereupon it takes effect automatically.

Mr Siniora said that the tribunal was not an instrument of revenge, nor directed against any country, “specifically not against sisterly Syria”.

The adoption of the tribunal is being welcomed by a Government that is struggling to cope with a sudden deterioration of security on top of its political battles with the opposition. The Lebanese Army is fighting a group of al-Qaeda-inspired militants in a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon where the worst violence has been experienced since the end of the civil war in 1990. Last week three large bombs exploded in Beirut and a mountain tourist resort, almost ensuring another poor tourist season. Dozens of new army checkpoints have been set up in Beirut at night, while shopping districts, restaurants and bars lie empty.

Anti-Syrian Lebanese insist that Damascus is behind the wave of violence to try to derail the tribunal.

Nonetheless, government officials hope that the establishment of the tribunal marks a watershed that could pave the way for resolving outstanding grievances between the Government and the opposition.

Days of violence

October 2004 Rafik Hariri, right, resigns as Prime Minister of Lebanon

Feb 14, 2005 Hariri killed by truck bomb in Beirut. 21 others dead

March 2005 After mass demonstrations accusing Syria of organising the killing, President Bashar al-Assad announces phased withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon

June 2005 UN investigation into Hariri's assassination begins

June 19 Hariri's son Saad al-Hariri, leader of antiSyrian alliance, wins Lebanese parliamentary elections

Oct 2005 Syria rejects UN accusation of involvement in Hariri's assassination

Nov 2006 Anti-Syrian Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gamayel gunned down in Beirut, Syrian involvement again suspected

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