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Lebanon in the abyss as 3rd anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri approaches. Three years after Rafik al-Hariri's assassination, the crisis unleashed by his death opens ever deeper rifts in Lebanon and threatens the state and society the leader sought to rebuild from civil war. The February 14 anniversary of Hariri's death has become a symbol for divisions between the heirs to his legacy and their opponents, who are waging a political conflict that has paralysed government and aggravated communal animosities. The anti-Syrian governing coalition, led by Hariri's political heir and son, Saad, has been fending off a challenge by opposition factions backed by Damascus for 15 months. Their confrontation has already led to lethal street violence. As mediators struggle to broker an end to the crisis, a recent escalation in the rivals' war of words and regular skirmishes between their supporters have raised fears of more bloodshed, even if many see little scope for full civil war. This year, as last, the anniversary of Hariri's death has shown the depth of the divide between the governing coalition and the opposition, which is led by the powerful Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah. Hariri and his allies have stepped up their verbal campaign against the opposition, which they accuse of seeking to restore Syrian control of Lebanon. Damascus was forced to end a 29-year military presence in Lebanon by international pressure in the wake of the Hariri killing. ''Well, it's both a commemoration and a deadline. It's a commemoration because we recall this great man whose sacrifice has contributed to starting the new independence and especially contain the Syrian regime from a creeping coup d'etat in Lebanon to really clone Lebanon on Syrian system, we stopped it,'' said anti-Syrian minister Marwan Hamadeh, himself a survivor of an assassination attempt in 2004. ''Nothing after this 14th of March will be as before the 14th of March. We are reaffirming our determination to go ahead, to elect a president for Lebanon,'' he added. Syria has always denied killing Hariri or any of the other anti-Syrian figures blown up or shot dead since his death in a truck bombing that killed 22 other people. Adopting a bolder approach to a crisis that has left Lebanon without a president since November, Hariri last week openly alluded to the prospect of conflict. Saad Hariri has said that his coalition is ready for confrontation if it came. Hariri inherited his father's position as the main Sunni Muslim politician in Lebanon -- a country with a sectarian system that links politics and religion. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a Hariri ally, has gone further by saying war was "welcome", expressing a readiness for a fight which observers believe both sides want to avoid. But Hamadeh, a member of Jumblatt's parliamentary bloc, said there were will be no war, as all sides realize its hefty price. ''There will be no war, the one who takes the decision for war will pay for it highly.'' Seeing the rhetoric as propaganda to galvanise support for the Hariri anniversary, Hezbollah has repeated its refrain that the opposition "will not be dragged into internal strife". The group's military dominance still precludes any descent into widespread armed confrontation, many observers say. But even if neither side wants a war, tough language could easily lead to more violence in a country awash with guns. Tensions have started to spill into regular street skirmishes. Hariri loyalists clashed with supporters of the opposition Shi'ite Amal movement on Tuesday evening (February 12), while Jumblatt loyalists fought with rival Druze. The March 14 coalition is hoping for a large turnout for the commemoration and considers the size of the turnout as a referendum on popularity. ''Hariri means everything to me. Rafik al-Hariri was my mother and father,'' said one citizen, accusing the opposition of collaborating in Hariri's death. ''I will be the first one to participate, my family and I are all going. We are all a sacrifice for this man, whose real value people only knew after his death. And we are with him until death," said another, Bassam al-Shami. ''He was a good man, a decent man. No one gave Lebanon as much as he did.'' But many believe Lebanon's turmoil will prolong with a negative impact. The pro-government An-Nahar daily recently warned: "The country cannot withstand all this rage, all this violence, all these threats, all these voices that resemble the Guns of Navarone ... as it stands on the edge of the abyss.''