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Arab mediators unveil deal to defuse Lebanon crisis

AFP - Friday, May 16

BEIRUT (AFP) - - Squabbling Lebanese factions agreed on an Arab League-mediated deal on Thursday to begin talks on defusing a long-running feud that drove the deeply divided country to the brink of a new civil war.

Under the agreement announced after two days of intensive talks, the factions agreed to relaunch a dialogue to end a paralysing political crisis that boiled over into six days of deadly sectarian gunbattles last week.

Arab leaders have been scrambling to end the standoff between the US-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition, a dispute regarded as part of a wider conflict between US regional allies and their foes in Syria and Iran.

Under a six-point plan announced by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, the rivals agreed to go to Qatar on Friday to begin a national dialogue to try to elect a president and form a national unity government.

"May 15 is normally a day we consider a sad one because of the memories it evokes," said Arab League chief Amr Mussa, referring to the creation of the Jewish state 60 years ago which is regarded as a "catastrophe" by Arabs.

"But this May 15, 2008 was witness to an important step forward on the Lebanese scene because of the success towards relaunching dialogue and a return to normal life and an accord between all the parties."

In the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, fighters from the Iranian-backed opposition rose up against pro-government forces last week, taking over swathes of west Beirut in the worst sectarian violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Under Thursday's deal, the rivals agreed to launch a dialogue "to shore up the authority of the Lebanese state throughout the country," to refrain from using weapons to further political aims and to remove armed militants from the streets.

But in an incident that highlighted the difficulty of bridging long-standing divisions, one man was shot dead and another was wounded in the east Lebanon town of Baalbek late on Thursday.

A political quarrel turned deadly and an opposition supporter opened fire on backers of majority leader Saad Hariri, killing one and wounding another, security officials said.

Thursday's accord also called for the removal of all roadblocks that have paralysed air traffic and closed major highways, and for the rivals to refrain from using language that could incite violence.

After the deal was reached militants loyal to Hezbollah began dismantling roadblocks on the highway to Beirut's international airport, paving the way for commercial flights to resume.

A Middle East Airlines plane from Paris arrived in the early evening, the first commercial flight since traffic was suspended a week ago.

Hopes of a deal were raised after the government, in a major climbdown, on Wednesday cancelled controversial measures against Hezbollah that had triggered the latest unrest which left at least 65 people dead and 200 wounded.

It rescinded plans to probe a private Hezbollah communications network and reassign the head of airport security over allegations he was close to the powerful Shiite militant group, moves Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah branded a declaration of war.

Parliament is scheduled to convene on June 10 for its 20th attempt to elect a president to replace Damascus protege Emile Lahoud who stepped down at the end of his term in November, exacerbating a crisis that began in late 2006 when six pro-Syrian ministers quit Siniora's cabinet.

Both sides have agreed on army chief Michel Sleiman as head of state, but they remain at odds over the details of a proposed unity government and a new law for parliamentary polls due next year.

Thursday's announcement said the dialogue would be crowned by an end -- on the eve of any election of Sleiman -- to a long-running opposition sit-in that has left the heart of downtown Beirut a virtual ghost-town.

Despite the renewed optimism, analysts warned that the government U-turn over Hezbollah had weakened Siniora's administration in its standoff with the opposition and was a slap in the face for US allies in Lebanon.

"This climbdown is a major retreat, not only for the government but the US agenda in Lebanon," political analyst and expert on Hezbollah Amal Saad-Ghorayeb told AFP.

"It... basically shows that force is the only way of dealing with the government."

The latest developments coincide with a visit to the region by US President George W. Bush, who has accused Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian allies of setting out to destablise Israel's northern neighbour.

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