Several families of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Syria held a sit-in on Tuesday near the junction that leads to the Baabda palace.

The families warned that they would escalate their measures if the men weren’t released soon and chanted slogans condemning the government’s failure to achieve their release.

Syrian renewed on Sunday its demand to Lebanon to prevent the infiltration of “terrorist groups” from its territories into its own.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem stated: “We hope Lebanon would help thwart the infiltration, which will benefit it and Syria.”

Rebels fighting government forces in Syria's commercial capital Aleppo "will definitely be defeated," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on an unannounced visit to key ally Iran on Sunday.

"We believe that all the anti-Syrian forces have gathered in Aleppo to fight the government... and they will definitely be defeated," he told a joint news conference in Tehran with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

The European Union on Friday announced “additional €5 million to support the needs of Syrian refugees and their Lebanese host communities.”

“With the influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon some of the most deprived communities in the country are suffering from an additional strain on their already limited resources. The European Union is committed to ensure that these host communities in particular, are able to mitigate the impact of this unprecedented influx in the medium to long term,” the Delegation of the European Union in Lebanon said in a statement.

Members of the Internal Security Forces beat an Agence France Presse photographer on Thursday while he covered a clash that erupted during a sit-in organized by Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on Sidon’s seaside road.

"When the protesters cut off Sidon's main road, a skirmish broke out between those participating in the sit-in and passers-by," said the photographer, Mahmoud Zayat.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati headed on Thursday to London to join the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games as 10 Lebanese athletes will participate in various games.

According to An Nahar newspaper, the premier will be accompanied by Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that Israel will act immediately if it discovers that Syria transferred chemical or biological weapons to Hizbullah.

Lieberman told Israel Radio: "For us, that's a casus belli, a red line."

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat criticized on Monday Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s position on the Syrian crisis, saying that he should have taken a stance towards the Syrian people that is “more in line with the liberation role he played in the South.”

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “He was better off not referring to one of the symbols of oppression against the Syrian people as a comrade-in-arms.”

The European Union expressed on Monday its readiness to continue providing assistance to Lebanon in coping with the burden of harboring refugees fleeing the unrest in neighboring Syria.

It said in a statement after a council meeting on Lebanon: “The EU commends the Lebanese authorities for their efforts to support those fleeing the violence in Syria, and encourages the government of Lebanon to continue meeting its responsibilities in this respect.”

Israel will not tolerate the transfer of advanced weapons to Hizbullah, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday, as fears grew about the future of Syria's suspected chemical arsenal.

"The State of Israel cannot accept the transfer of advanced weapons systems from Syria to Lebanon," he said in remarks relayed by his office.