Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Sunday called on the parties forming the new cabinet to speed up the process in order to "calm the popular storm," as he urged protesters hailing from Tripoli and the North to shun violence and preserve "Beirut's dignity."

“We feared for Beirut yesterday, but as usual, it has stitched the wounds of its sons from the ranks of the security forces and protesters and removed from its face the remains of anger, rioting and the smoke of blazes,” Hariri tweeted, referring to Saturday’s fierce clashes in Beirut between protesters and security forces.

Human Rights Watch has described the Internal Security Forces’ response to the central Beirut demo which turned violent on Saturday as "brutal," calling for an urgent end to what it called a "culture of impunity" for police abuse.

"There was no justification for the brutal use of force unleashed by Lebanon's riot police against largely peaceful demonstrators in downtown Beirut," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW.

Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun stressed on Saturday that the Lebanese Armed Forces will not slack-off despite criticisms directed at the military institution.

Protesters hurled eggs and vandalized banks while others blocked several main roads on Saturday as unprecedented demonstrations against a political elite accused of corruption and incompetence entered their fourth month.

Speaker Nabih Berri considered the latest tweets of the top UN official in Lebanon as an “interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

A brief confrontation erupted Friday evening between anti-government protesters and security forces on Beirut’s Hamra Street.

The skirmishes started after some protesters hurled bottles, stones and firecrackers at security forces outside the central bank, which prompted riot police to chase them to the end of Hamra Street.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Friday blasted those obstructing the government’s formation as “Lebanon’s enemies.”

“The government was not formed this week because, as everyone knows, the obstructors have returned to the approach of splitting shares, which means a return to the previous situation,” al-Rahi said.

Anti-government protesters on Friday braved rain and a stormy weather to stage fresh demos against the ruling class and the banking policies.

The protesters rallied near parliament in downtown Beirut, outside the central bank in Hamra, on the capital’s Ring highway, in the northern city of Tripoli and in the southern city of Tyre.

Caretaker Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan on Friday asked Internal Security Forces Inspector General Col. Fadi Saliba to “continue the investigations that the ISF Directorate General is conducting into the incidents of the past 48 hours.”

Al-Hassan stressed that injured protesters can submit complaints with the ISF’s inspection department.

Hizbullah is exerting strenuous efforts to facilitate the formation of the new government and it might propose giving the industry portfolio to the Druze community in return for the social affairs portfolio in a bid to resolve this obstacle, MTV reported on Friday.

“Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab is meanwhile still insisting on keeping the number of ministers at 18,” MTV added.