Hezbollah Moves Closer to Power In Lebanon

The militant Shia group Hezbollah has been given a boost in its efforts to form a coalition government in Lebanon, reports the BBC. Influential Druze leader Walid Jumblatt indicated he will support the group when parliamentary talks begin Monday to pick a new prime minister. Current PM Saad Hariri’s unity government recently collapsed when Hezbollah members resigned, and support from Jumblatt is acknowledged to be essential to any candidate trying to form a government.

Tension is high in Lebanon as the country awaits the results of a UN inquiry into the 2005 assassination of PM Rafik Hariri, Saad’s father. Members of Hezbollah are expected to be implicated, and the group has denounced the investigation as a US-Israeli plot. The impasse has raised fears of a return to sectarian violence.