Lebanon's military intelligence chief General Raymond Azar, who has been pressed for resignation by the opposition, has left Beirut for one-month vacation, Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel reported on Tuesday.

Lebanon's opposition parties have been pressing for the sacking of Azar and five other security chiefs for their responsibility for the Feb. 14 murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. Concerned Lebanese sources were quoted as saying that Azar, accompanied by his two deputies Ali Jaber and Ali Al-Samadi, "obtained, at his request, administrative leave in Lebanon for one month."

Brigadier George Khoury, the head of Lebanese military intelligence in Mount Lebanon area and Beirut, will replace Azar during his vacation, according to the sources.