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Lebanon: On Again/Off Again Prime Minister Saad Hariri Resigns Again
MARWAN TAHTAH/AFP via Getty Images
17 Jul 2021
Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri resigned Thursday after trying and failing to form a government for the struggling nation over the past nine months, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Friday.
“It is clear that we will not be able to agree with the president,” Hariri told reporters shortly after a 20-minute meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on July 15.
“I have excused myself from forming the government. May God help the country,” Hariri added.
Hariri’s resignation comes amid a financial crisis in Lebanon “branded by the World Bank as one of the planet’s worst since the mid-19th century,” AFP noted July 16.
July 17, 2021 Share
Tension intensified in Lebanon on Friday, with riots leaving more than two dozen people injured in the northern city of Tripoli, including five soldiers who were attacked with a hand grenade.
France, the European Union and the United States in the meantime called on Lebanese politicians to urgently form a Cabinet and planned an international conference to help stabilize Lebanon after a series of crises.
“All concerned parties need to work with urgency to put in place a government that’s able to implement reforms immediately,” tweeted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The announcements came at a moment of great uncertainty for Lebanon after Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down on Thursday over disagreements with the president on the shape of the Cabinet. Hariri did not endorse anyone else to take the post. Hundreds of his supporters rioted in the streets, blocked major roads and hurled stones.
As Lebanon plunges deeper into chaos, you re better off a zoo animal than a person haaretz.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from haaretz.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In this file photo taken on October 22, 2020, then former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri delivers a statement after the president named him to form a new cabinet, at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut. AFP
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down on Thursday over what he called key differences with the president, deepening a political crisis that has left the Lebanese without a government for nine months even as they endure an unprecedented economic meltdown.
With no clear candidate to replace Hariri, Lebanon is likely to slide deeper into chaos and uncertainty. Prospects for forming a government to undertake desperately needed reforms and talks for a recovery package with the International Monetary Fund are now even more remote.