Miqati Resigns; Lebanese Government Falls

Lebanon's government fell today when Prime Minister Najib Miqati resigned following a Cabinet deadlock and amid deepening Sunni-Shi‘i clashes, especially in Miqati's home base of Tripoli.  The Cabinet was unable to reach agreement over electoral changes and over extending the term of Internal Security Forces head Ashraf Rifi, also a Sunni from Tripoli. (Also see Qifa Nabki here.)

I don't talk much about Lebanon's internal politics very much here, but I doubt if I have to dwell on the fact that the sectarian violence in Tripoli and elsewhere in the past year is a direct reflex of the Syrian conflict, With Cabinet disagreements over the electoral system threatening to torpedo parliamentary elections due this year, Lebanon may be embarking on another of those protracted political vacuums it does so well. But this time, with the added explosive factor if events next door,

UPDATE; There are reports she has been sent to a psychiatric hospital.