Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud refused on Saturday to endorse government plans for an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
The planned court is a major bone of contention between the Western-backed government and the opposition, spearheaded by Hezbollah, which is staging a round-the-clock vigil in Beirut to try to oust Lebanon's anti-Syrian prime minister. Six pro-Syrian ministers, including five Shia members, quit the cabinet last month to press their demands for a government of national unity.
The remaining ministers subsequently approved proposals for the tribunal, but Lahoud said in a statement on Saturday that the depleted cabinet was unconstitutional and therefore did not have the authority to pass the court project.