BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Lebanon's caretaker prime minister returned to Beirut Friday to face lawmakers who one analyst said might be ready for a fight after the government collapsed.
Saad Hariri, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, left Istanbul to return Friday following a whirlwind tour that took him to Washington and Paris amid controversy surrounding a tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of his father.
Hariri was in Washington meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama when Hezbollah led opposition lawmakers in a walkout Wednesday that collapsed the fragile unity government in Beirut.
Hezbollah is upset that Hariri is supporting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which the Shiite movement said is part of an Israeli project meant to discredit the group.
Jamal Wakim at the Lebanese International University told al-Jazeera the political crisis is "very serious" with the potential for conflict likely without a quick settlement.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, however, said the resignation of the 11 opposition ministers wasn't going to usher in an era of war in Lebanon.
The STL is expected to name Hezbollah members when it releases its indictment, which could come as early as next week.
The opposition March 8 movement was quoted by Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper as saying that it would put forward names for a new government within 48 hours.
Hariri had no public comments Friday. UPI
