President Michel Suleiman on Sunday announced that he has asked security forces to protect Lebanese towns near the border with Syria “from any attack.”

“Suleiman has asked military and security officials to take all the necessary measures to protect Lebanese villages and towns near the border with Syria,” said a message published on the president's Twitter account.

The political violence that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is confronting is the source of sharp divisions among the Lebanese, U.S. Ambassador to Beirut David Hale has said.

“I don't think that the Tribunal caused the divisions in Lebanon,” he told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Sunday.

French President Francois Hollande's adviser on North Africa and the Middle East Emmanuel Bonne stressed on Saturday his country's support to the Lebanese state institutions, calling for the swift formation of a new cabinet.

“Consultations are have intensified to reach a suitable lineup,” Bonne pointed out after talks with Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun.

Former PM Saad Hariri's stances on the formation of a nine-month stalled cabinet echoed positively as sources close to President Michel Suleiman described his position as a “step forward” in the formation process, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Presidential Palace sources in Baabda described the stance as a step forward giving momentum to the strenuous efforts aiming to speed up the cabinet line-up and to facilitate the mission of PM-designate Tammam Salam in that regard.

A number of people were killed and wounded on Friday in shelling from the Syrian side of the border against the Bekaa border town of Arsal.

The National News Agency reported that seven people were killed and 15 wounded in the attack.

Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour said on Friday that the cabinet formation awaits a political decision by the March 14 and 8 alliances after the theoretical discussions ended.

The Progressive Socialist Party's minister said urged the rival parties in comments published in As Safir newspaper to swiftly agree on the new cabinet's lineup and overcome the remaining obstacles.

March 14 independent MP Butros Harb stressed that the March 14 alliance has an agreement over the broad headlines of the cabinet formation process, stressing that the formation of a neutral cabinet remains better than vacuum amid the delicate situation Lebanon is passing through.

“There is a comprehensive meeting over the main principles with the Lebanese Forces,” Harb said after talks with head of the LF party Samir Geagea in Meraab on Wednesday night.

Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil stressed on Thursday that the Free Patriotic Movement is working on dismantling the acute political lineups, accusing the March 14 alliance of contradicting itself.

“We are contributing with the political foes to bridge the gap and reach an all-embracing cabinet,” Bassil said in an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper.

Government formation process has reached a deadlock after a dispute over the cabinet's ministerial statement between the political foes, local newspaper reported on Thursday.

Sources told As Safir newspaper that the cabinet formation is expected to be delayed as the March 14 alliance is holding on to its conditions to include the dissociation policy in the ministerial statement and excluding the the formula of the “Army,people, and resistance.”

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Wednesday Lebanon's commitment to international resolutions, while highlighting the importance of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in ending impunity in Lebanon.

He said on the eve of the beginning of the STL trial: “The tribunal is a step towards holding criminals accountable for their actions.”