Hezbollah not to give in on quota dispute

The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah will not give way in a dispute over Sunni representation in a new unity government, the pro-Hezbollah Al Akhbar newspaper reported yesterday, signalling no quick end to the standoff.

Six months since a parliamentary election, the row over Sunni representation is seen as the final hurdle to the formation of a government.

A deal seemed close last week when a dispute over Christian representation was settled, with the antiHezbollah Christian Lebanese Forces ceding ground to Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement, which is allied to Hezbollah. But Hezbollah is pressing its demand for one of its Sunni allies to be given a cabinet portfolio to reflect gains they made in the May 6 parliamentary election.