BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The March 14 coalition in Lebanon says Hezbollah is trying to plot a coup in Beirut, the Shiite movement said Wednesday.
Hezbollah on its al-Manar news station said the Western-backed March 14 movement believed the Shiite opposition was trying to the push the country back to the political situation that existed before Syrian troops pulled out of the country in 2005.
Al-Manar quotes March 14 leader Fares Soeid, a Syrian critic, as saying Hezbollah was embarking on a "fierce coup attempt" aimed at reversing gains made since 2005.
Soeid added that Hezbollah was actively undermining the U.N-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Hezbollah says the tribunal is part of an Israeli plot, revealing evidence in August that it claims is a sign its arch foe was involved in the scheme to kill the former leader. Hezbollah and Damascus were connected to the plot. Both deny the claims and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri told an Arab newspaper that it was wrong to lay the blame on Syria.
Hezbollah gained two positions in the Cabinet following a lengthy power-sharing battle between members of the opposition March 8 alliance and March 14 in June elections.
