Egypt and Saudi Arabia call for Arab meeting on Lebanon

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt and Saudi Arabia called on Arab foreign ministers on Friday to meet urgently in Cairo to discuss the political crisis in Lebanon.

The meeting could come in the next two days, an Egyptian spokesman said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement the meeting was aimed at stopping "the armed elements' domination of the Lebanese street".

Hezbollah gunmen took control of large areas of Beirut on Friday in a third day of fighting against forces loyal to the U.S.-backed coalition.

"Only parties which want Lebanon to stay in conflict would benefit from this situation," Aboul Gheit added.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman said earlier Egypt and Saudi Arabia had applied for an immediate meeting of the council of foreign ministers of the Arab League, and expected it to happen within the coming two days.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a statement the meeting would be held on Sunday in Cairo.

Arab League officials were not immediately available to confirm the date of the meeting but it said secretary-general, Amr Moussa, had cut short a visit to the United States and was back in Cairo on Friday to start consultations.

A Saudi Foreign Ministry official said earlier his country "called on all political factions to listen to the voice of wisdom and to place the country's interests above all other considerations", Saudi state television said.

"Lebanon's plunge into blind turmoil would only be a victory for foreign extremist forces," the unnamed official said.

At least 18 people have been killed in gun battles since the U.S.-backed government took action against a communications network run by Hezbollah, a Shi'ite political bloc backed by Iran and Syria, which runs a well-trained guerrilla army.

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a leading Arab power, as surging world oil prices have enabled the U.S. ally to play a bigger role in settling regional disputes. Saudi Arabia sees itself as the centre of mainstream Sunni Islam.

The kingdom is a main backer of the Sunni-led government in Lebanon.

It has backed Lebanon's economy with injections of cash, and blamed Hezbollah for Israel's 2006 land and air assault on the Arab country, saying it had provoked the Jewish state.

(Additional reporting by Wael Gamal in Cairo; Writing by Firouz Sedarat; editing by Richard Balmforth)

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