Sleiman presses for gov't within 48 hours

COOPERATE IMMEDIATELY: Sleiman (pictured) has called on all parties to work together to form a unity government within the next 48 hours. (AFP)

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman pressed on Sunday for the formation of a national unity cabinet within 48 hours after weeks of protracted negotiations between political rivals.

"All parties must cooperate immediately to enable the establishment of the government," Sleiman said, according to a statement from his office.

"Mr Sleiman stressed the importance of forming the government in 48 hours," the statement said, adding that there was "no reason to justify" the delay.

Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has been tasked with creating a unity government following a deal struck by rival factions in the Qatari capital Doha more than five weeks ago to end a crisis that brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war.

But the Western-backed Sunni-led parliamentary majority and the Hezbollah-led mainly Shi'ite opposition continue to squabble over the distribution of key portfolios in the new 30-member government.

"Those who are not allowing [the creation of the cabinet] are committing a serious error against the homeland and the people of Lebanon," Sleiman said.

Security concerns remain high in the troubled country.

A blast of unknown origin in an apartment building in the northern port city of Tripoli on Saturday left one person dead, following clashes there last week between Sunni militants and fighters from the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, that left eight people dead.

Under the Doha accord, Sleiman was elected president on May 25, filling a post left vacant since November. It stipulated that the ruling bloc is to have 16 seats in the new cabinet and the opposition 11, with the president appointing three ministers.

The deal was struck after at least 65 people were killed in May in sectarian fighting that saw Hezbollah stage a spectacular takeover of mainly Sunni areas of west Beirut and raised fears of a return to civil war.

Lebanon's constitution sets no deadline for forming a government once a premier has been named, nor does it provide a mechanism for withdrawing the mandate of an unsuccessful prime minister-designate.

Arab League chief Amr Mussa also warned in an interview published on Sunday that Lebanon was nearing a dangerous "red line" in its failure to set up the government.

"We are waiting to see how Lebanese politicians deal with the question of forming the cabinet under extremely dangerous circumstances that have known repercussions," said Mussa, who has been involved in mediation between the rival factions.

"Lebanon is still dotted with mines, and the solution must come from inside the country."

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