Syria calls for unity government in Lebanon

Buenos Aires, Jan 27: Syria has renewed its call for Lebanon to form a unity government and said foreign interference was damaging the administration of embattled Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Lebanon, which suffered a civil war in 1975-90, has long been the target of Syrian influence.

Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal, in an interview with Reuters on the last stop of a South American tour, urged the U S-backed government of Siniora to find ways to work with the Hezbollah-led opposition.

''Syria wants to see the full unity of all Lebanese factions -- political and spiritual -- in a national unity government,'' he said, speaking in the Syrian embassy in Buenos Aires.

Bilal said the political situation in Lebanon was being hurt by ''a lot of ambassadors (in Beirut) who are not working in favor of the Lebanese people.'' Asked about the U S role in Lebanon, he said: ''Everyone in the world knows who interferes in Lebanese affairs, is working daily against Lebanese unity, dialogue and consensus.'' The administration of U S President George W Bush is working to bolster Siniora's government by helping him politically and militarily.

On Wednesday, U S State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington was concerned that ''irresponsible'' forces were working to undermine Siniora's government.

The White House warned in November that Syria and Iran, acting through the Hezbollah group of Shi'ite Muslim militants, might be on the verge of an attempted coup in Lebanon.

Asked what steps the Siniora government could take to help end the crisis, Bilal said: ''They have to listen to the voice of their own people, the millions of Lebanese people who are in the streets asking for national unity and for consensus.'' In Beirut yesterday, Hezbollah supporters appealed for unity among Lebanon's factions at a funeral for a student shot during clashes on Thursday between government loyalists and Hezbollah followers that killed four people.

Reuters