Amnesty International on Thursday condemned the killing of Lebanese protester Alaa Abu Fakhr and said it must be investigated by civilian and not military prosecutors.

"Only a fully independent court can bring justice to Alaa and his family," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Regional Director.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks Thursday evening at the Center House with the Italian Minister of Defense Lorenzo Guerini and a high-level delegation from the ministry led by Chief of Defense Staff General Enzo Vecciarelli.

The meeting focused on the bilateral relations and the military cooperation programs between Lebanon and Italy, Hariri’s office said.

Caretaker Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab on Thursday said he has called on the judiciary to carry out “speedy and transparent investigations” into the incident that resulted in the death of the protester Alaa Abu Fakhr, urging a “comprehensive probe” not limited to the detained army intelligence agent who opened fire.

“This is rejected and we can never accept gunfire against the protesters or any bloodshed,” Bou Saab said after talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday said contacts to form a new government have made major progress, hoping the cabinet will be formed “over the coming days should the obstacles be eliminated.”

The president also noted that protesters’ demands “will be followed up and will be the top priority of the new government.”

Major roads around Lebanon have been reopened after a two-day closure triggered by a TV interview with President Michel Aoun in which he called on protesters to go home.

The roads linking Beirut with the country’s south and north were opened shortly before noon Thursday, as well as others around the country.

The body of Alaa Abu Fakhr named as the “martyr of the revolution” by some was laid to rest on Thursday in his hometown of Choueifat.

Abu Fakhr, 38-year-old father, was shot dead in front of his wife and son by an army intelligence agent at a protest Tuesday night in Khaldeh.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Thursday described a wall constructed and later removed by protesters under Jounieh’s Nahr el-Kalb bridge as “isolation wall.”

“The priority today is to form a government of salvation and prevent destructive thought from taking the country into a clash. Beware of the walls of segregation that drag people into infighting,” said Bassil in a tweet.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi emphasized during talks with caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil the “need to form a government that people trust,” the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States of fueling protests in Lebanon and Iraq, Iranian media said on Thursday.

An army intelligence agent involved in the Khalde incident that resulted in the death of the protester Alaa Abu Fakhr was referred to the judiciary on Wednesday.

“The Intelligence Directorate has referred First Adjutant Charbel Hjeil to the relevant judicial authorities after interrogating him over the incident that resulted in the martyrdom of Alaa Abu Fakhr,” the Army Command’s Orientation Directorate said in a statement.