BEIRUT, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Five pro-Syrian Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim ministers and an ally of the president said on Monday they were suspending participation in the cabinet after it voted to call for a U.N. inquiry into a series of political killings.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora had called for the urgent session hours after the killing of anti-Syrian lawmaker and newspaper magnate Gebran Tueni in a car bomb in Beirut. "This is not a resignation from the government but a suspension of membership in the cabinet while awaiting a decision from our political leadership," Hizbollah Energy Minister Mohammed Fneish told reporters. "We object to the principle of internationalising all Lebanese files … and abandoning (Lebanon’s) sovereignty," he added.
The government called on the United Nations to form a tribunal of an "international character" to try suspects in the Feb. 14 killing of ex-Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. It also asked the council to investigate all attacks in Lebanon over the past 14 months.

The Shi’ite ministers include Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Hizbollah’s Labour Minister Trad Hamadeh and two ministers from the Shi’ite Amal group.

The non-Shi’ite is Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf, a Christian who is close to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.