The Lebanese government approved on Saturday plans for a special tribunal to try those accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said.

Aridi made the remarks after an extraordinary cabinet session without six resigned pro-Syrian ministers.

The approval, though widely expected, was bound to deepen the country's political crisis and spark mass street demonstrations by Hezbollah and its allies to topple the government led by Prime Minister Fouad Seniora.

Six pro-Syrian ministers resigned earlier this month after the country's leaders failed to reach an agreement on formation of a national unity government.

The pro-Syrian bloc said that Seniora's government had lost its legitimacy since Shiite Muslims are no longer represented.

Seniora insisted that the approval was not "a provocation" against its opponents. "On the contrary, it is aimed at protecting everybody," the prime minister said in a statement.

Seniora said that the creation of the international tribunal would help uncover "the truth" of Hariri's assassination.

Hariri was killed in a massive bomb blast in Beirut in February 2005. An ongoing UN probe has implicated Syrian officials in the killing, but Damascus has denied its role.

Hariri's death sparked massive protests in Lebanon. Under mounting international pressure, Syria withdrew its forces from Lebanon in April 2005.

Source: Xinhua