Lebanon's Berri says government might stumble over tension
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BEIRUT - Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday the work of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's government work could be obstructed by political tension, al-Manar TV reported, as a row involving President Michel Aoun showed no signs of abating.
Aoun's son-in-law, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, was caught on camera calling Berri "a thug" earlier this week, causing protests in Beirut and gunfire near offices of Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) east of the capital on Monday.
"The government will continue but it might stumble because of the current political tension," al-Manar, controlled by the powerful Shi'ite group Hezbollah, cited Berri as saying.
The row has worsened a standoff between Berri, a Shi'ite, and Aoun, a Maronite Christian, that threatens to ignite sectarian tensions in the run-up to a parliamentary election in May.
