Lebanese Forces party leader calls on Aoun to resign

BEIRUT, Lebanon

The head of the Lebanese Forces party on Thursday called on President Michel Aoun to resign and for general elections to be held.

Speaking to a Lebanese radio network, Samir Geagea said the only solution left in Lebanon is to hold parliamentary elections where the new parliament could elect a new president.

Geagea accused Aoun of playing the sectarian card to keep himself in power and of paving the way for his son-in-law Gebran Bassil to become president.

The Lebanese Presidency has yet to respond to Geagea's comments.

The Lebanese Forces party opposes Auon's Free Patriotic Movement. The two are the country's largest Maronite Christian parties.

Lebanon has not been able to form a new government since the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government six days after an explosion ripped through the port of Beirut last August, killing more than 200 people.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was designated to form a new government, but the process has stalled due to differences between him and Aoun.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara