Lebanon's government collapsed Wednesday, throwing the country into its biggest crisis since 2008 and marking a major setback for U.S. efforts to ensure stability in the combustible nation and region. Tensions in Lebanon have been high amid expectations that a U.N.-backed tribunal will soon indict members of Hezbollah in the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. On Wednesday, 11 cabinet ministers from the Shiite group and its allies resigned in protest over the government's failure to denounce the expected indictments, toppling the government.
The political drama unfolded as Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of the slain former prime minister, was in Washington meeting with President Obama. The stakes are high for the United States. Hariri is Washington's strongest ally in Lebanon, but his faction has slowly withered as Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, has grown in strength and popularity. Residents of Beirut were already preparing for the worst on Wednesday, some packing up and traveling north in case of another flare-up. Others heralded Hezbollah's strength in the face of the indictments.
Mustapha, a businessman who asked to be identified only by his first name, said he called his wife to tell her they may be heading north soon. He closed two of his stores because of bad business and prayed that there would be no clashes. "I personally don't want to know the truth anymore, and Saad Hariri should drop it - there is no point," he said. "Even if the indictments are issued, who will do the arrests? We don't know who to believe anymore. The country was dysfunctional while there was a national unity government, and now it is toppled and the country is dysfunctional and dangerous."
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