Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Tammam Salam on Saturday formed a national unity cabinet, including all rival groups, ending a 10-month vacuum.
Suheil Bouji, the secretary general of the Governmental Palace, announced the formation of a 24-member cabinet that divides ministers between the pro-Syrian Hezbollah coalition March 8 and the Western-backed 14 gathering, as well as centrists.
Mr. Salam was nominated in April, but deep divisions persisted between the Shiite Hezbollah movement and the Sunni-led, Western-backed bloc of ex-premier Saad Hariri over the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
The main obstacles to forming a cabinet were the disagreements over key portfolios such as the interior and foreign ministries between the rival groups.
