Mikati urges support 'for state not groups' amid 'existential' crisis
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday warned that his country was suffering an "unprecedented" crisis that threatens its existence, as Israel says it is waging war on Hezbollah.
"Lebanon is going through an unprecedented historical and existential crisis that threatens its present and future," he told a joint Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Riyadh.
Mikati urged the international community to support the state, not factions operating in the country, and in a thinly veiled swipe at Iran, urged countries to stop interfering in its affairs.
He demanded that countries stop "interfering in its internal affairs by supporting this or that group, but rather support Lebanon as a state and entity".
Mikati also called for an immediate cease-fire along the Lebanon-Israel border, saying the war has had devastating effects on the small nation.
He called for the implementation of a U.N. resolution that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in the summer of 2006, and the deployment of Lebanese troops along the border with Israel in coordination with U.N. peacekeepers.
Mikati spoke at the opening session of the Arab-Islamic summit. He said the war has caused “unprecedented losses” with more than 3,000 people dead, including 775 women and children.
He said the war also had caused $8.5 billion in losses, including $3.4 billion caused by the destruction or damage of about 100,000 housing units in different parts of the country.
“No state can take the burden of this huge destruction,” Mikati said, adding that Beirut is about to set up a fund that will be funded by friendly states for the reconstruction process. He said the fund will be under international supervision and subject to international auditing.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/309179 |