Lebanon Crisis Grows As Sixth Minister Quits

Lebanon's political disarray deepened today as the last minister allied to the pro-Syrian Hizbullah movement resigned from the cabinet.

The exit of Yacoub Sarraf, the environment minister, followed the resignation of five Shia ministers at the weekend over their demands for effective veto power in the government.

"As I can't find myself part of any constitutional authority that lacks representation from a whole religious sect ... I herewith tender my resignation from the government," Mr Sarraf, a Christian, said in his letter to the prime minister, Fouad Siniora.

The Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, last month said he wanted a greater influence in the government in order to stop the anti-Syrian majority giving in to a renewed "American-Israeli demand" to disarm his movement following this summer's war with Israel.

Mr Nasrallah demanded one third of the 24 cabinet seats, prompting some ministers to accuse Hizbullah of seeking veto rights in order to protect Syria from prosecution after the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.

Senior Syrian security officials have been widely blamed for the killing, but Damascus denies involvement. A UN commission investigating the assassination has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials.

The anti-Syrian majority coalition has accused Hizbullah of carrying out a Syrian-Iranian plan to overthrow the western-backed government and foil efforts to set up a UN-sponsored tribunal to try Mr Hariri's killers.

Hizbullah denies trying to obstruct the Hariri tribunal, saying it had agreed to it but wanted to discuss the details.

The assassination of Mr Hariri led to mass protests against Syria. Under international pressure, Syria ended a 29-year military presence in Lebanon last April, and anti-Syrian politicians swept to victory in ensuing elections.

The demand by Hizbullah for effective veto power over key decisions would effectively reverse the election results.

Lebanon's political crisis has been deepened by the failure to form a government of national unity, raising the prospect of street confrontations that would damage efforts to recover from the devastating war with Israel.

Hizbullah yesterday said it would stage peaceful street protests as part of a campaign to press demands for better representation in government for its allies, especially the Christian opposition leader, Michel Aoun.

Anti-Syrian leaders have pledged counter-demonstrations, sparking fears of violence at a time of rising tension between Sunni and Shia Muslims.