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 is the historical and geographical central business district, core of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Also called downtown Beirut, it has been described as the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative ...

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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and was known as a leading critic of

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

and the

Assad regime Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the one-party rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. From 1971 until its collapse in 2024, it was rule ...

among the country's political elite. Described as a

political assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

, the killing was widely seen as a message to Lebanon's March 14 movement.

Assassination

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

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

and weighing more than detonated in downtown

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

targeting the convoy of

Mohamad Chatah Mohamad Chatah (; 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 University of T ...

. 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 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 ( ; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese people, Lebanese businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. The son of Rafic Hariri, he ...

, implied

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

Rafiq Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004. Hariri headed five cabinets during his tenu ...

; they are the ones who want to assassinate Lebanon." The March 14 movement of which Chatah was a member, also blamed Hezbollah and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. 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 () (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 heart attack A myocardial infar ...

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 the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Special Tribunal was set to try four

members for the 2005 killing of

Rafik Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004. Hariri headed five cabinets during his tenu ...

, who was also killed in a car bomb. Following the trail a link was made to

Unit 121 Unit 121 is Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah's covert assassination team reporting directly to the group's Secretary-General. The unit has allegedly conducted deadly car bombings targeting Lebanese military and political leaders and jou ...

that executed from the late 80's, Hezbollah's assassination policy against politicians and journalists in Lebanon.

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 ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

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 Improvised explosive device bombings in Beirut Terrorist incidents in Lebanon during the Syrian civil war Assassinations in Lebanon Car and truck bombings in 2013 2010s crimes in Beirut December 2013 in Lebanon 2013 murders in Lebanon 21st-century mass murder in Lebanon Mass murder in Beirut 2013 road incidents in Asia Road incidents in Lebanon {{Terrorism-stub