Lebanese PM announces resignation

BEIRUT - Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati announced his resignation Friday evening after his government failed to reach an agreement in a cabinet session earlier in the day over the formation of a supervisory electoral body, state media said.

Miqati made his announcement during a news conference in the Grand Serail, the government headquarters in capital Beirut.

He said, "I intended to resign twice in the past, but I did not save the country. Today I announce the resignation of the cabinet. "

"Through our solidarity we can still save our country from the risk of strife," said Miqati, who's statement brought an end to his government that was created less than two years ago.

Earlier in the day, a cabinet session was held in Beirut during which several ministers said that the government might resign if no agreement was reached over the extension of Internal Security Forces Chief Ashraf Rifi's tenure and over the formation of a committee to oversee the parliamentary elections.

Miqati's resignation dropped a political bombshell on his country which is witnessing intense clashes between the Sunni neighborhood of Bab El Tebbaneh and Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen in its northern port city of Tripoli as well as the sectarian tension between the Sunni and Shiite areas.