The United Nations Security Council today passed a resolution ordering Syria to co-operate with the investigation into the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri - or face "further action".
The resolution demands that the Syrian President Bashar Assad hand over his own brother to answer questions posed by the UN's investigating commission.
As a concession to China and Russia, which had promised to veto any direct threats against Syria, it stops short however of threatening economic sanctions against Syria if he refuses to comply.
Nonetheless the resolution orders Damascus to arrest and freeze the assets of anybody the UN suspects of involvement in the killing. It was passed unanimously.
So far, the UN has named Mr Assad's brother, Maher Assad, and his brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, Syria's chief of military intelligence, as possible suspects in the assassination of Mr Hariri, who was killed along with 20 other people in an explosion in Beirut on February 14.
These are the names Koffi Annan had removed from the UN's investigation report.
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