U.N. Lebanon inquiry team wraps up

UNITED NATIONS, March 16 (UPI) -- The United Nations Mission of Inquiry has completed its investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Chief U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters at U.N. World Headquarters in New York Wednesday members of the team were returning from the Middle East to report to Secretary-General Kofi Annan next week.

Peter FitzGerald, a deputy Irish national police commissioner, was appointed by Annan after the U.N. Security Council requested the secretary-general report urgently on the circumstances, causes and consequences of the Feb. 14 bombing that killed Hariri and 14 others.

"We fully understand the gravity of the task at hand and can assure all concerned that we will work with absolute impartiality and professionalism," FitzGerald said on his arrival last month in Beirut.

The assassination increased tensions in Lebanon, and a separate U.N. envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, seeking withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence officers from Lebanon, has also been in the region talking with leaders of both countries and was expected to report later this week.