Lebanon Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down on Thursday after failing to form a government for over the past eight months, Al Jazeera reports.
Hariri resigned following a brief meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace.
“I withdrew from forming the government,” he told reporters. “Aoun demanded some amendments, which he considered essential, and said we will not be able to reach an understanding with each other… And may God save this country.”
Hariri reportedly will talk about failed government-formation efforts in a television interview later Thursday. His office declined to comment to Al Jazeera.
Aoun accused Hariri of already deciding to step down prior to their meeting. “Hariri rejected any amendments related to changes in ministries, their sectarian distribution, and the names associated with them,” the president’s office said in a statement.
Later Thursday, supporters of Hariri and his Future Movement party took to the streets, blocking roads with burning tyres and rubbish bins in several areas around Beirut. Several dozen protesters at Beirut’s Sports City scuffled with Lebanese soldiers in riot gear.
