Saudi Cabinet calls on Lebanese to unite

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The Council of Ministers, which was presided over by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, hoped that the ministerial committee set up by the Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo would soon visit Beirut on a mission to end the infighting.

The Cabinet meeting urged Lebanese groups to listen to the voice of wisdom and give priority to their country’s interests. It reminded them that the escalation of violence would only benefit foreign extremists who want to thwart the efforts to solve Lebanon’s political crisis.

Meanwhile, fierce fighting erupted in northern Lebanon yesterday, further exacerbating tensions after days of deadly sectarian battles that have driven the nation to the brink of full-blown civil war.

At least one man was killed in clashes between government supporters and Hezbollah followers in Tripoli. By late afternoon the fighting had died down as the army moved in and appealed to the gunmen to stop fighting and go home.

Lebanon has been rocked by six days of fighting that has left at least 61 people dead and nearly 200 wounded, the worst unrest since the 1974-1990 civil war, which has dramatically raised the stakes in a protracted political crisis.

Yesterday, Lebanese troops moved into the Druze mountains southeast of the capital Beirut after firefights between rival factions on Sunday killed at least 16 people, a security official said.

In Beirut, there was an uneasy calm although schools and some businesses were still shut. Some barricades erected by Hezbollah gunmen remained, the road to Beirut international airport was shut for the sixth straight day and a border crossing into Syria was blocked.

The Saudi ambassador in Beirut, Abdul Aziz Khoja, and his family were among 200 people who managed to reach the nearby island of Cyprus by boat, officials there said.

Clashes turned deadly on Thursday after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused the government of effectively declaring war against his party, and spread to other parts of Lebanon at the weekend. But opposition fighters withdrew from Beirut’s streets on Saturday after the army acted to overturn two government measures against Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has accused his opposition rivals of staging a “coup” in the divided nation, which has been without a president for six months because of the political standoff.

 

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