A UN-backed court on Thursday cancelled the opening of a new trial of one of the killers of Lebanese ex-premier Rafic Hariri as it faces a severe funding crisis that could force it to close. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, based in the Netherlands, said the start of the trial on June 16 of Hezbollah suspect Salim Ayyash on charges of other attacks was "cancelled due to lack of funds." The announcement came a day after the court said it would close unless it received an urgent cash injection, citing an "unprecedented" lack of funding because of the economic crisis in Lebanon and the global Covid crisis. Ayyash was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment over the huge 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri and 21 other people. The court has said he cannot appeal until he turns himself in. The court was due to open his trial in a separate case over three attacks targeting Lebanese politicians. But it said that following Wednesday's announcement on funding it had cancelled the start of the trial, and "also suspended all decisions on filings presently before it, and on any future filings, until further notice." The court said it "reiterates its urgent call upon the international community for its continued financial support." Estimates of the tribunal's total cost range from $600 million to $1 billion. For that outlay, it has achieved one conviction and three acquittals. The court was born from a UN Security Council resolution and inaugurated in 2009. dk/gd