Arab League's mediation mission to Lebanon

The Arab League said on Sunday it would send a high-profile mission to Beirut to help mediate an end to Lebanon's worst civil strife in 18 years, but analysts were skeptical the efforts could yield significant results.

The Cairo-based organization said Arab foreign ministers, meeting in an urgent session, had chosen Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani and Arab League chief Amr Moussa to head the delegation.

Fifty-three people have been killed in the fighting that erupted when Hezbollah, a group supported by Iran and Syria, briefly seized control of Beirut after the pro-Western government's decision to target its military communications network. At least 150 people have been wounded.

"We want to rescue Lebanon," Moussa told a news conference after the meeting. He said the ministers condemned the "use of violence to achieve political goals."