Rival Lebanese leaders clinched a deal on Wednesday to end an 18-month political feud that exploded into deadly sectarian fighting this month and nearly drove the country to a new civil war.
The agreement, announced by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani after days of tense talks in Doha, will see the election of a president for Lebanon within days.
Lebanon's US-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora described the deal with the Iran- and Syria-backed opposition as a "great achievement in the history of the Arab nation and the history of Lebanon."
The two sides have been negotiating since Friday in an Arab-mediated bid to end a political crisis that erupted into deadly street battles earlier this month, the worst sectarian unrest in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Wednesday's accord was hailed by regional states including Lebanon's former power broker Syria and in Beirut where an opposition protest that has turned the heart of the capital into a virtual ghost-town was finally ending.
The deal covers the election of army chief Michel Sleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government and a ban on the use of weapons in any internal conflict.
"I am very happy with the outcome," a beaming Sleiman told reporters.
Under the terms of the accord, parliament speaker Nabih Berri was to call an parliament to convene within 24 hours for the vote but several Lebanese officials said they believed it would be on Sunday.
"I don't expect the election to take place before this weekend," said Sleiman, 59, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces 10 years ago when Syria still held sway in Lebanon's political affairs.
Lebanese, battered by years of conflict, reacted with relief but were also wary it might be only a temporary reprieve for their deeply divided nation.
"Hopefully this is not a band-aid solution and is a long-lasting one, people need to live in peace," said Aleco Assaf, 64.
In the Middle East, backers of both Siniora's government and the Iranian- and Syrian-backed opposition hailed the deal.
"We have proved that the historic Lebanese formula of 'no victor and no vanquished' is the only formula that can lead us to safe shores," said Arab League chief Amr Mussa.
The rival factions had agreed last year on electing Sleiman as a successor to Damascus protégé Emile Lahoud, who stepped down at the end of his term in November, leaving the nation without a head of state.
But the Sunni-led government and the mainly Shiite Muslim opposition had differed over power-sharing in a unity government and a new electoral law and parliament has previously put off 19 attempts to vote for a new president.
Under Wednesday's deal, the ruling majority will have 16 seats in the cabinet and be able to choose the prime minister.
The opposition will have 11 ministerial posts while another three will be nominated by the elected president, who under Lebanon's multi-confessional system must be a Maronite Christian.
The crisis erupted in November 2006 when six pro-Syrian ministers quit the Siniora cabinet, which has the support of Washington and regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and the opposition later launched a tent protest in Beirut.
It degenerated into street battles in early May which saw fighters from Hezbollah and its allies temporarily seize control of large swathes of west Beirut from their Sunni rivals and left a total of 65 people dead.
Disagreements over Hezbollah's large arsenal also proved a stumbling block in the talks, with government representatives insisting that it be on the agenda and the Shiite militant group saying the issue is not up for discussion.
Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in Lebanon, was the only movement not required to disarm after the civil war, saying their weapons were a means to defend the country against Israel.
Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000 but fought a devastating war against Hezbollah guerrillas in the summer of 2006.
