Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade, who is on an official visit to Beirut, said he is looking forward for a wider cooperation with Lebanon to help it confront the burden of Syrian refugees.

“Part of our dialogue with Lebanon should take into consideration Lebanon's burden in assisting the refugees,” Meade told An Nahar daily in an interview published on Tuesday.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Lloyd J. Austin III visited Beirut on Saturday to renew Washington's commitment to provide military aid to Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy announced.

The General met with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, the U.S. mission said in a press release.

On days like Wednesday, when the Lebanese parliament convenes for yet another attempt at electing the country's president, shopkeeper Jamal Baghdadi cannot get a single client through the doors of his souvenir shop in Beirut's historic city center, a stone's throw from the landmark limestone building.

Every road around the Lebanese capital's Place de l'Etoile is closed off — both to cars and pedestrians, as well as anyone without a valid employee badge for the upscale offices that surround the four-faced Rolex clock tower at the center of the square.

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi stressed on Thursday that Lebanon is imposing strict measures on Syrian laborers and not restrictions.

“The conditions are in line with the national resolutions that are linked to the organization of the work of foreign laborers and with the labor laws applied in all countries around the world,” Qazzi revealed in comments to the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.

The Lebanese army said on Wednesday it has arrested more than 150 fugitives and suspects during raids it carried out in Beirut, the eastern Bekaa Valley and the northern district of Akkar.

In a communique, the army said a unit raided the houses of several individuals in the areas of Haret Hreik and the airport road in Beirut's southern suburbs, arresting two people wanted for using firearms and driving a stolen vehicle.

Fierce battles erupted on Wednesday on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal between al-Nusra Front-affiliate Jaish al-Fatah and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The state-run National News Agency reported that clashes reached the outskirts of Arsal and Wadi Hmeid crossing, four kilometers from a Lebanese army checkpoint.

The security plan, which has so far led to the arrest of several fugitives in Beirut's southern suburbs since it was implemented late last month, has entered a new stage, informed security officials said.

The officials, who were not named, told al-Joumhouria newspaper on Wednesday that the joint security force, comprised of the army, the Internal Security Forces and General Security, has completed its final deployment in the area and took positions in several strategic locations.

The army said on Thursday it arrested a fugitive wanted for murder and three other people for the possession of drugs in several areas of Beirut's southern suburbs.

Hassan Hussein Zoaiter, who is wanted for the death of a Lebanese man, was apprehended, said a communique issued by the army command.

Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji said on Wednesday that the differences among the country's rival leaders would not stop the military from defending Lebanon, vowing to continue the battle against terrorists.

“The political disputes will not thwart the army's sacred duties in defending Lebanon,” he said in a speech at the Beirut Bar Association.

Speaker Nabih Berri has warned that the paralysis of the parliament was harming Lebanon's national security and threatening its internal stability.

Blocking legislation leads to political and constitutional problems but also threatens the country’s national security, and ways to protect it and consolidate its stability, said Berri in remarks published in As Safir daily on Tuesday.