Arab foreign ministers, holding an emergency session on Sunday, will send a high-level delegation to Beirut immediately to try to mediate a way out of Lebanon's worst civil strife in 18 years, the Arab League said. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani will head the delegation, the Cairo-based organization said in a statement. It did not name the other members of the mission. Fierce clashes erupted Sunday in mainly Druze areas southeast of Beirut between government supporters and rivals from the Hezbollah-led opposition, prompting appeals for calm from rival Druze leaders. Heavy machine-gun fire and loud explosions echoed through several villages in the district of Aley, including Aaytat and Baysur. Intense fighting was also reported in Shwayfat. At least 53 people have been killed and 150 wounded in five days of fighting when Hezbollah briefly seized control of Beirut after the government's decision to target its military communications network. Tensions have eased in Beirut Sunday after Hezbollah fighters pulled back from areas they had seized in the western half of the capital. But residents reported that at least two people had died in fresh clashes in northern Lebanon. “It is true the Lebanese parties are capable of solving their problems but the phase they are currently going through foretells grave consequences, and the nation does not need a new break in its ranks,” Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, whose country holds the League's rotating chair, said. An Arab League official in Cairo said the foreign ministers would call for an immediate deal on forming a Lebanese national unity government and the election of army chief General Michel Suleiman as president. The ministers, meeting in closed session, would also call for a team of “politicians, intellectuals and neutral parties” to work on drafting a new electoral law after the election of Suleiman, the official said. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem, whose country is a main ally of Hezbollah, was not present at the meeting. Syria's delegation was chaired by its ambassador to the Arab League. “Maybe there are different views, and this is the reason for calling to hold an Arab foreign ministers meeting to discuss all the elements put forth to exit this crisis,” Hesham Youssef, chief of staff for League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, said. In remarks carried by Egyptian state news agency MENA, Youssef said that the Arab League wanted a “formula to ensure the integrity of the Lebanese people and the safety and security of Lebanon.” The Saudi Shoura Council also expressed deep concern on the Lebanonese situation, Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday. In a statement read by its chairman Dr. Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, the Council appealed to the Lebanese political leaders to listen to reason and to put Lebanon's interest above all other considerations. The Council stressed the importance of returning to the Arab League initiative and not turning to the extremist forces. The Shoura Council also expressed support for the efforts of the Kingdom to contain the situation in Lebanon.
