BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese President Michel Aoun has ordered outgoing Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and his government to conduct business until a new government is formed, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday that Hariri was ready to lead the next government on terms.

Hariri announced his resignation on Tuesday after mass protests that lasted nearly two weeks against the political elite, which the demonstrators accuse of corruption.

The protesters welcomed the step of Hariri's resignation, but announced that they would remain in the street until the looted funds were recovered and the corrupt accountable.

For its part, the Council of Maronite Bishops demanded that the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri be taken "in a constructive spirit" and called on officials to "rally around the President of the Republic to take constitutional measures to protect Lebanon and prevent the arrival of fire."

He urged the major and influential countries in the region to "liberate the Lebanese from regional and international conflicts on their land."

For his part, the United Nations Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubic, expressed his hope that a new government will be formed as soon as possible "so that Lebanon can recover and revitalize its economy."

In a related context, a senior official said that Saad Hariri is ready to assume the premiership in a new Lebanese government provided that it includes a technocrat able to implement the required reforms quickly to avoid economic collapse.

The official, who asked not to be named, said the new government should be free of a group of prominent politicians included in the outgoing government.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera correspondent in Lebanon reported that most of the main roads blocked by demonstrators have been reopened since the start of popular protests in the country two weeks ago.

The army has opened roads linking the capital Beirut to the northern and northern governorates.

This comes after the army asked the protesters, in a statement today, to open the remaining closed roads, stressing the right to peaceful demonstration in the squares. Meanwhile, major banks and institutions continue to be closed in most areas.