BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri used a solemn anniversary Monday to move his Western-backed March 14 alliance into the opposition, a source said.
Monday marked the sixth anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Saad Hariri's father. An international investigation into the slaying has released a sealed indictment for the 2005 assassination, though Hezbollah is widely expected to be named by the tribunal.
Hezbollah in January led opposition leaders in Beirut in resigning from the government, which brought an end to a fragile coalition led by Saad Hariri.
Sources close to March 14 told Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper that March 14 was mounting a "fierce opposition" to a government that it fears will be dominated by Hezbollah.
Hezbollah held two Cabinet portfolios in the Hariri government. Prime Minister-designate Nijab Mikati was backed by the opposition group, though both sides maintain he isn't a stand-in for the Shiite resistance movement.
Mikati, who describes himself as a moderate, was once allied with Hariri's March 14 coalition. Hariri's opposition, however, gives more room in the Mikati government for Hezbollah and its March 8 allies, The Daily Star source said.
Mikati hasn't been able to form a unity government since the January fall of Hariri. It took Hariri most of 2009 to form a unity government with March 8 allies.
