Dubai: The murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in a massive explosion on February 14 last year did not only unite the Lebanese people politically, but also put to rest fears of new civil war, say Lebanese analysts.

At the same time, the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from Lebanon and the increasing influence of many western states were among the ups and downs in the past year, they added.

"Hariri's assassination put an end to fears of civil war erupting in Lebanon," said Antoine Messarra, political science professor at the Lebanese University and research coordinator at the Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace, an NGO established in 1987.

There were fears that the guns of the civil war (1975-1990) had fallen silent temporarily, but "Hariri's assassination has created a strong stance among Muslim and Christian leaderships vis-a-vis all forms of foreign dominance in Lebanon," added Messarra in an interview with Gulf News.

"There is no fear of a civil war. There is a fear of tumours erupting. These would hurt," said Lebanese journalist Najia Housari.

As an example of changes in society, she recalls after the assassination, "You would not expect a Sunni to go to the street and say Syria get out."

"This is a big transform- ation with [them] speaking the language of the Christians." Traditionally, Sunnis, in general, didn't take an aggressive position towards Syria.

Describing it as "exceptional phenomenon", Messarra referred to the huge gatherings of Lebanese from different religious backgrounds around Hariri's grave, and the massive rallies calling for Syria to withdraw its troops and western powers to keep out of Lebanese affairs.

However, the unity did not last the whole year, and Lebanese found themselves again taking sides.

Many Lebanese blame Syria for the murder of the man who many looked at as the "godfather" of the Taif Accord that ended the civil war and was behind rebuilding Lebanon. Damascus has denied the accusation.

A UN investigation team implicated Syria in the killing, in its report last year with special focus on senior military officials.

"The more the investigation pressures on Syria, the more reverberations it has in the Lebanese arena ... the more the country is divided," said Najia.

Now Lebanese, analysts explain, are divided on certain issues like the Hezbollah resistance and its arms, and future relations with Syria. Those who express their support to Syria "ignore" not only the international resolutions, but also Taif Accord, which also spoke of all the issues under discussion now, such as disarming Lebanese groups and Syrian withdrawal, analysts added.

Accordingly, many add they don't view national unity as the major future challenge.

"I believe the biggest challenge is the regional influence that affects the internal situation as well," said a Lebanese political analyst, who refused to be identified.

"I think without foreign meddling, foreign influence to the level that it is now, we could deal with our internal problems much more effectively," he added.

He strongly believes Lebanon is "caught in the confrontation between the US and Europe on one side, and Iran and Syria on the other", he added, expecting such a situation to continue "as long as the confrontation keeps on".

Meanwhile, Hariri's murder helped what many feel is Lebanese "renaissance ".

"It is an exceptional awakening in the history of Lebanon, where Lebanese realised almost comprehensively the degree of dangers that threaten them in case Lebanon remains a stage for others' conflicts," concluded Masserra.