Arab foreign ministers for end to Lebanon violence

Arab foreign ministers holding crisis talks in Cairo yesterday appealed for an end to violence in Lebanon after fierce clashes erupted in mainly Druze areas southeast of Beirut.
"In view of the danger of the situation in Lebanon, the council of ministers sends out an urgent appeal for an immediate end to violence in Mount Lebanon (Druze regions) and other areas," Ahmed bin Hilli, assistant secretary general for political affairs, said reading from a statement.
A final statement was due later.
The meeting follows days of lethal street battles in Lebanon which have stoked fears that a protracted political feud could break out into a repeat of the 1975-1990 civil war.
Notably absent was Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem whose country has been blamed for the troubles of its smaller neighbour.
At the opening session, Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmud Ali Yussuf, who chaired Sunday's session, told fellow ministers that "a number of steps and measures to resolve the situation in Lebanon have been put forward.”