Hezbollah resigns from Lebanese government

Published on 12/11/2006 01:05

CABINET ministers from Hezbollah and its allied Amal party resigned from the Lebanese government yesterday, throwing the country's political landscape into chaos hours after rival politicians failed to agree on Hezbollah's demand to form a national-unity government.

The resignations of the five ministers from Amal and Hezbollah will not automatically bring down the government of Western-backed prime minister Fuad Saniora. But they remove considerable political backing from Shiite Muslims, making it difficult for Saniora to govern.