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Beirut • Lebanon's government collapsed Wednesday after Hezbollah and its allies resigned from the Cabinet in a dispute about upcoming indictments in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
A U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others is widely expected to name members of the Shiite militant group, which many fear could reignite sectarian violence that has erupted repeatedly in the tiny nation.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Rafik's son, was meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington when his government collapsed.
Hariri cut the meeting short and departed for France to consult with President Nicolas Sarkozy before returning to Beirut, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing sensitive diplomatic moves.
A White House statement issued afterward said that Obama had commended Hariri for his "steadfast leadership and efforts to reach peace, stability and consensus in Lebanon under difficult circumstances."
Obama and Hariri declared their commitment to strengthening Lebanon's sovereignty and independence.
"The efforts by the Hezbollah-led coalition to collapse the Lebanese government only demonstrate their own fear and determination to block the government's ability to conduct its business and advance the aspirations of all of the Lebanese people," the statement said.
Lebanon's 14-month-old government was an uneasy coalition that linked bitter rivals: a Western-backed bloc led by Saad Hariri and Hezbollah, which is supported by Syria and Iran and maintains an arsenal that far outweighs that of the national army.