BEIRUT, (AP) – Syria’s president warns upcoming indictments in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri could destroy Lebanon.

Bashar Assad said in an interview published Tuesday in the Arab daily Al-Hayat that Lebanon is “divided on a sectarian basis” and indictments in the case could rip the country apart.

A massive truck bombing in Beirut killed Hariri and 22 others.

A U.N. tribunal is investigating the case but has not issued indictments yet. There is speculation it may accuse Syria or Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group in Lebanon that Syria supports. Both have denied involvement.

There are fears in Lebanon that if indictments name Hezbollah, it could lead to violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities.