Arab and world leaders have congratulated Lebanon after its parliament elected army chief Gen Joseph Aoun to the country's presidency on Thursday, filling the position that had been vacant for more than two years.

The new president, a favorite of Washington, Paris and Riyadh, says he wants to rebuild his country, now in tatters.

Lebanese army commander elected president weeks after a tenuous cease-fire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.