Syria’s interior minister, who effectively controlled Lebanon for two decades, was found dead in his office Wednesday, days before the release of a U.N. report that could implicate high-ranking officials in the murder of Lebanon’s former prime minister.
The Syrian government called the death of Brig. Gen. Ghazi Kenaan a suicide, but opponents claimed it could be a murder to cover up top- level involvement.
The news of Kenaan’s death shocked Syrians, and the government felt compelled to stress it would not affect the country’s political stability.