Lebanon cabinet, opposition in stand-off
Lebanon's Western-backed cabinet vowed not to cave in to calls to resign after a massive demonstration led by the pro-Syrian group Hezbollah, as protesters camped outside government offices.
The show of force in central Beirut tightened the political deadlock in the country which has been nearly paralyzed because of a fierce struggle for supremacy between pro- and anti-Syrian camps within the power-sharing regime.
Crowds of protesters thronged the streets of the capital on Friday, calling for the ouster of the "corrupt" leadership and temporarily blocking access to Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's government headquarters.
"The massive demonstration... has given Lebanon one of the most difficult tests that the country has known in a long while," warned the pro-Syrian Al-Akhbar daily.
Egypt fears Lebanon civil war if protests continue
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday he feared continued street demonstrations, especially if they became sectarian, could turn Lebanon into a battlefield.
On Friday hundreds of thousands of Hezbollah-led protesters rallied in Beirut to try to force the resignation of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's U.S.-backed government. The protest continued on Saturday.
"Wisdom is required in dealing with internal differences," Mubarak told journalists in Sharm el-Sheikh, where he was meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"What I fear is that if the demonstrations continue, and take on a sectarian form, supporters of these sects from outside Lebanon will join in and no one will be able to control it, especially if it continues for a long time."