Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi announced Sunday that the long-stalled trials of Islamist inmates held at the Roumieh prison would be finalized “within two months,” blaming the delay on “the Syrian regime's legacy” in Lebanon.

“The Syrian regime's 30-year legacy cannot be ended in three months and the issue needs more time and we have a long way ahead,” Rifi told families of Islamist prisoners during a meeting at the al-Salam Mosque in Tripoli.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday visited the Tripoli district of Jabal Mohsen to offer condolences to the families of the victims of the recent suicide bombing that killed nine people at a packed cafe.

“We came here to thank you for the beacon of tolerance and entire Lebanon appreciates you for dousing the flames of vengeance,” said al-Rahi.

The army announced on Sunday the arrest of four suspects in Beirut wanted on terrorism charges.

The communique said that Lebanese Mohammed Ali Shukr was arrested on Saturday night in Beirut's Haret Hreik neighborhood for carrying out terrorist activity.

The army announced on Sunday that three of its soldiers suffered from suffocation after Israeli troops at the border tossed teargas bombs at their military position.

It said in a statement that the incident took place near the Aita al-Shaab area in the South.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil declared that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's recent remarks on Bahrain do not reflect the stance of Lebanon, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.

He hoped to the daily that the furore over the claims would “prompt all sides to understand the need to refrain from meddling in the affairs of other countries.”

Hizbullah has increased security measures in its stronghold of Dahieh in Beirut's southern suburbs in the wake of the blast in the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood in the northern city of Tripoli on January 10, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.

It said that members of the party have set up checkpoints near those already manned by the army and security forces.

Preparations are underway to launch a state-sponsored security plan in the northern Bekaa region amid fears that influential powers in the area would not cooperate fully with the security forces, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

Concerned sources told the daily that the security forces “did not sense real cooperation in implementing the plan with Hizbullah and the AMAL movement” that wield their influence in the area.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq revealed that Islamist inmates, who were moved out of Roumieh prison's block B, are set to return to the building after renovations there are complete, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

He told the daily that they will return to the block over three phases, first on March 1, then April 1, and May 1.

The disputes between the various Palestinian factions in the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh have been exploited by Islamist forces in the area in order to impose their control over the camp, reported Ad Diyar daily on Sunday.

Palestinian forces had informed Lebanese security forces that they refuse to engage in a confrontation with the Islamists in order to avoid bloodshed and casualties among its residents.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun is expected to attend the next meeting between representatives of the movement and the Lebanese Forces, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.

An LF source told the daily that the meeting is scheduled to take place next week.