BEIRUT // Lebanese justice minister Ashraf Rifi announced his resignation from the cabinet on Sunday, accusing the militant Hizbollah group of dominating the government.
Mr Rifi has been one of Hizbollah’s harshest critics in Lebanon and his resignation came two days after Saudi Arabia halted deals worth US$4 billion (Dh14.7bn) aimed at equipping and supporting Lebanese security forces.
Mr Rifi also blamed Hizbollah and its allies for the country’s political crisis, which has left it without a president for 21 months and paralysed state institutions.
“Continuing [to be part of] this government has become an agreement to this deviation, or at least is a failure to confront it,” Mr Rifi said.
“So I present to you and to prime minister Tammam Salam my resignation.”
Lebanon has a sectarian divide that reflects the wider regional split between Sunni and Shiite powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran, and has long been a battlefield where the region’s proxy wars play out. Pro-Saudi Lebanese politicians said Hizbollah and its allies were to blame for not backing the kingdom in its conflict with Iran.
Mr Rifi said “the practices of Hizbollah’s statelet and its allies are not acceptable”.
* Associated Press and Reuters
