Lebanon army chief set to become president

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

BEIRUT (AFP) — Lebanese lawmakers are poised to elect army chief Michel Sleiman as president on Sunday in a first step toward defusing a crippling and often deadly 18-month standoff between rival factions.

Sleiman, 59, will be elected during a session attended by several foreign dignitaries, including Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa.

It was Qatari mediation during talks in Doha that brokered a deal on Wednesday morning to end the impasse, which earlier this month had degenerated into violence, killing 65 people and pushing Lebanon to the brink of civil war. Ali Hamdan, spokesman for parliament speaker Nabih Berri, told AFP that among the 200 dignitaries invited were...