BEIRUT, March 25 (Reuters) - Lebanon's anti-Syrian government will boycott a March 29-30 Arab summit in Damascus because of a political crisis blamed by Beirut and its Arab allies on Syria, a ministerial source said on Tuesday. The Beirut government blames Syria and its Lebanese allies, led by Hezbollah, for the crisis that has paralysed government and left the country without a president for the first time since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. "The Lebanese government will boycott the summit," said the Lebanese ministerial source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that the cabinet would officially announce the boycott after a meeting later on Tuesday. Lebanon is at the heart of a conflict between Syria and Saudi Arabia -- which supports Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet and also blames Damascus for the crisis. Saudi Arabia has decided to send its permanent Arab League representative to the Damascus summit -- effectively a snub of a meeting that should bring together heads of state. Like Saudi King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is also not expected to attend the summit. Both Arab powers are key allies of the United States, which also supports Siniora's government and accuses Syria of meddling in Lebanon. Syria's allies in Lebanon accuse the governing coalition of being no more than tools of U.S. foreign policy and say that Washington has derailed initiatives to resolve the conflict. Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud's term ended in November. The rival Lebanese alliances have agreed that army chief General Michel Suleiman should fill the presidency, which is reserved for a Maronite Christian according to Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system. But his confirmation by a vote in parliament has been held up by a dispute over seats in a new cabinet. The governing alliance has refused to yield to the opposition's demand for effective veto power in government. Parliament had been due to convene on Tuesday to elect Suleiman but the session was postponed on Monday to April 22 in the absence of any deal. It was the 17th official postponement of the presidential election. (Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Sami Aboudi)
Members of the Palestinian security forces march in formation during a demonstration of their training techniques in the West Bank city of Jenin March 25, 2008. Israel said on Tuesday it ...
Lebanon
