US urges transparency in Samaha case

The United States called Monday on Lebanon to ensure transparency in any action against a former minister accused of plotting attacks, fearing a spread of violence from neighboring Syria.Lebanese forces on Thursday arrested Michel Samaha, a former information minister. A judicial source accused Samaha and Syria's security chief, General Ali Mamluk, of planning sectarian killings and explosions in Lebanon. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she could not comment on the accusations but reiterated concern over "the ethnic tensions inside Syria spilling over into Lebanon." "So we want to see Lebanese authorities work well together and work well with Lebanese defense forces to address any spillover," Nuland told reporters. "Obviously any court procedures should proceed in an open, transparent manner that respects international standards," she said. Lebanon suffered a bloody sectarian civil war from 1975 to 1990 and was occupied by Syria for nearly three decades until 2005, when troops pulled out under international pressure. Samaha is a Lebanese considered close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime. Mamluk was appointed on July 24 as Syria's new head of national security in a shake-up after a bombing killed four top generals.