Ministers resign from Lebanese government

Hezbollah and Amal Cabinet ministers resigned from the Lebanese government today, Hezbollah's al-Manar TV station said.

The resignation of five Cabinet ministers from Amal and Hezbollah throws Lebanon's political landscape in chaos, though it does not automatically bring down the government.

But by quitting, the five Shiite Muslim Cabinet ministers remove the political cover from the country's main sect and would make it difficult for Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to govern.

More than eight Cabinet ministers would need to resign before the government is considered dissolved.

Al-Manar said the ministers from the Hezbollah guerrilla and allied Shiite Muslim Amal party stated they were resigning because all-party talks have fallen through and the government was trying to impose conditions for negotiation on a new government.

The TV announcement came after failure earlier today of a week-long attempt to agree on a Hezbollah demand for a national unity government.