LEBANON: Hezbollah-backed designated Prime Minister Najib Mikati starts talks to form his government

Record ID: 344071

  • Title: LEBANON: Hezbollah-backed designated Prime Minister Najib Mikati starts talks to form his government
  • Date: 27th January 2011
  • Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (JANUARY 26, 2011) (REUTERS) DESIGNATED PRIME MINSTER NAJIB MIKATI SEATED WITH FORMER PRIME MINISTER RASHID EL SOLOH MIKATI SEATED EL SOLOH SEATED MORE OF MEETING RABIEH, LEBANON (JANUARY 26, 2011) (REUTERS) MIKATI ARRIVING AND SHAKING HANDS WITH FORMER PM AND CHRISTIAN OPPOSITION LEADER MICHEL AOUN MIKATI AND AOUN SEATED DURING MEETING AOUN SEATED MIKATI SEATED JOURNALISTS SEATED FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FORMER PM AND CHRISTIAN OPPOSITION LEADER MICHEL AOUN, SAYING: "Our target today is to build a unified country without corruption and to get rid of all these rumors they spread to cause sectarian strife." CAMERAS AOUN LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE TRIPOLI, LEBANON (JANUARY 26, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SQUARE IN TRIPOLI WHERE PRO HARIRI RALLY TOOK PLACE POSTER OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER SAAD AL-HARIRI VARIOUS OF LEBANESE ARMY VEHICLE AND SOLDIERS WATCHING STREETS VARIOUS OF POSTERS FOR FORMER PRIME MINISTER SAAD AL-HARIRI
  • Embargoed: 11th February 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon, Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACJQI1KHAAERATPI73G7V1SMBX
  • Story Text: Lebanon's Hezbollah-backed designated Prime Minister Najib Mikati held talks with former prime ministers on Wednesday (January 26) to form his new government.
    Mikati met with former Prime Ministers Rashid el Soloh and Michel Aoun and he was expected to hold talks with outgoing Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri later in the day.
    Hundreds of angry protesters burned tyres and blocked roads across Lebanon on Tuesday (January 25) after the Hezbollah-backed politician was named prime minister.
    Sunni Muslims loyal to outgoing premier Hariri staged a "day of rage", burning tyres and blocking roads in protest at the appointment of Sunni billionaire Najib Mikati, a centrist lawmaker with ties to both Saudi Arabia and Syria.
    The biggest protest took place in the northern city of Tripoli where medical sources said 20 people were treated for injuries and protesters set fire to a satellite truck.
    Hezbollah and its allies quit Hariri's government this month in a dispute over a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the assassination of statesman Rafik al-Hariri, Saad al-Hariri's father. The tribunal issued confidential indictments last week that are widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members in Hariri's assassination, a charge the Shi'ite group denies.
    The nomination of Najib Mikati is seen as a victory for Hezbollah and shifts the balance of power in Lebanon towards Syria and Iran.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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