U.N. calls for calm in Beirut dustup

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Political differences in Beirut are best resolved through "rational dialogue," the U.N. special envoy to Lebanon said in Beirut.

The unity government in Lebanon is strained as the country braces for possible indictments from the U.N.-backed tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Hezbollah and its allies in Damascus are believed to have played a role in the plot. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the slain prime minister's son, told an Arab newspaper the Syrian allegations were politically motivated. Hezbollah, for its part, alleges the tribunal is part of a broader Israeli plot.

Meanwhile, the Emirati newspaper The National reports that Brig. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, jailed for four years in connection to the plot, said he believes Hariri paid witnesses to testify against him.

Michael Williams, the U.N. special envoy to Beirut, during meetings with Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri pleaded for calm in the latest political dustup.

"The United Nations continues to believe that any differences should be resolved through calm and rational dialogue between all sides, and through the work of Lebanon's state institutions," the special envoy was quoted by the U.N.'s news agency as saying.

The tribunal ruled earlier this week that Sayyed could have "limited" access "to certain materials in the Hariri case."