Report: Mikati threatens to leave Lebanon if Bassil calls for protests

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati has informed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi that he would leave the country if Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil asks his supporters to protest in the streets, sources said.

The sources, close to a senior government official, told al-Liwaa newspaper that Mikati considered that "threatening with protests will not benefit Lebanon's stability."

"Let Bassil's camp bear the responsibility of any resulting chaos and of leaving the country without any authority," the sources quoted Mikati as saying.

Al-Rahi, for his part, told Mikati that Bkerki strongly opposes any calls for protests and any constitutional chaos, the sources said.