Lebanese unity government collapses
Press TV – January 12, 2011

A Lebanese government cabinet meeting
Lebanon’s unity government has collapsed after 11 ministers led by Hezbollah and its allies resigned over tensions stemming from a US-backed probe into the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.
Energy Minister Jibran Bassil told a news conference on Wednesday that Hezbollah ministers and their allies have resigned from the Cabinet.
Hezbollah made the decision after its demands on Tuesday for an urgent cabinet session over the tribunal’s crisis was rejected.
“If the cabinet fails to meet, it means there is no government and as such 11 ministers will tender their resignations this afternoon,” Health Minister Mohamad Jawad Khalifeh, whose Amal party is allied with Hezbollah, warned earlier on Wednesday.
The resignations came as Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is in the US for a meeting with US President Barack Obama.
Former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 20 other people were assassinated on February 14, 2005, when explosives equal to around 1,000 kilogram of TNT were blown up in downtown Beirut.
The Washington-sponsored Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was set up some two years later to look into the deadly incident.
Reports say that the court would likely issue an indictment against some Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has vehemently rebuffed the allegations. He has described the tribunal as part of dangerous projects that are targeting the resistance movement.
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