Doha, Qatar, May 22, 2008 / 02:36 am
Rival Lebanese leaders on Wednesday reached an agreement to end 18 months of political conflict.
At Arab-mediated talks hosted in Doha, the Lebanese parliament agreed to elect army chief General Michel Suleiman as president. The presidency has been empty since November.
Under the agreement, BBC News reports, the Hezbollah-led opposition will have enough cabinet seats to have veto power in the new cabinet.
In compliance with one plank of the agreement, Hezbollah members on Wednesday began to dismantle protest camps in central Beirut.
The agreement also forbids the use of arms or violence to settle political differences.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said it was "an exceptional agreement at an exceptional time," according to BBC News.
Hezbollah delegation leader Mohammed Raad said the agreement would help “towards strengthening coexistence and building the state.”
Father Fady Tabet, the director of Voice of Charity Radio in Lebanon, told Vatican Radio that the agreement was a victory for both the government and the opposition.
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