The assassination of Mohamad Chatah occurred on 27 December 2013 when a car bomb targeting a convoy detonated in

Beirut Central District The Beirut Central District (BCD) or ''Centre Ville'' is the historical and geographical core of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Also called downtown Beirut, it has been described the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative hu ...

killing Chatah, his bodyguard, and four others. Chatah had previously served as Lebanon's finance minister and ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and was known as a leading critic of Hezbollah and the Assad regime among the country's political elite. Described as a

political assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

, the killing was widely seen as a message to Lebanon's

March 14 movement The March 14 Alliance ( ar, تحالف 14 آذار, taḥāluf 14 adhār}), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that are united by their anti-Syrian stance ...

Assassination

At approximately 9:40am on 27 December 2013, a massive bomb placed in a stolen

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

and weighing more than fifty kilograms (100 lb) detonated in downtown

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

targeting the convoy of

Mohamad Chatah Mohamad Chatah ( ar, محمد شطح; 7 March 1951 – 27 December 2013) was a Lebanese economist and diplomat. Biography Chatah was born in Tripoli, Lebanon. He studied economics at the American University in Beirut and earned a doctorate at ...

. The blast instantly killed six people, including Chatah, and injured 70 others, of whom two later died, bringing the death toll to eight. The neighborhood in which the blast took place in was heavily damaged as well, with structural damage to nearby apartments and office buildings.

Perpetrators

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, however it led to a spate of accusations being hurled by Lebanon's political actors. Former Prime Minister

Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ar, سعد الدين رفيق الحريري, translit=Saʿd ad-Dīn Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 ...

, implied Hezbollah's culpability in the attack and said the killers, "are the ones who assassinated

Rafiq Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri ( ar, رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from ...

; they are the ones who want to assassinate Lebanon." The March 14 movement of which Chatah was a member, also blamed Hezbollah and Syria. However the group denied responsibility, characterizing the attack as only beneficial to Lebanon's enemies and called on the killers to be brought to justice. Syria's Information Minister

Omran al-Zoubi Omran Ahed al-Zoubi ( ar, عمران عاهد الزعبي) (27 September 1959 in Damascus, Syria – 6 July 2018 in Damascus, Syria) was the Minister of Information in the Government of Syria from 23 June 2012 until July 2016. He died from a hea ...

denied the blame placed on Syria saying, "These wrong and arbitrary accusations are made in a context of political hatred". The assassination came twenty days before a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Special Tribunal was set to try four Hezbollah members for the 2005 killing of

Rafik Hariri Rafik is the given name of: * Rafik Al-Hariri (1944–2005), business tycoon, former Prime Minister of Lebanon * Rafik Bouderbal (born 1987), French-born Algerian player currently playing for ES Sétif in the Algerian Championnat National * Rafik ...

, who was also killed in a car bomb.

Reactions

Former prime minister Saad al-Hariri accused Hezbollah of involvement in the killing of Chatah, saying it was "a new message of terrorism". "As far as we are concerned the suspects... are those who are fleeing international justice and refusing to represent themselves before the international tribunal," Hariri said, referring to the upcoming trial in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

of five Hezbollah members suspected of assassinating his father Rafik in 2005.

References

Car and truck bombings in Lebanon Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 2013 Mass murder in 2013 Terrorist incidents in Beirut Terrorist incidents in Lebanon during the Syrian civil war Assassinations in Lebanon Political violence in Lebanon 2010s in Beirut December 2013 events in Lebanon 2013 murders in Lebanon {{Terrorism-stub