U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams hoped on Monday that a new government would be formed in a few weeks’ time in order for it to tackle the recent security unrest in the country, among other matters.

He said after holding talks with Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud that this issue should be at Lebanese politicians’ main concern.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed Monday that the country can no longer tolerate a political vacuum, saying Premier-designate Najib Miqati should form the new government as soon as possible.

“Lebanon can no longer tolerate the inexistence of an executive authority,” al-Rahi told reporters at Beirut airport before heading to the Vatican.

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Saturday the need for calming the political rhetoric in Lebanon and returning to dialogue.

He said: “Internal affairs can only be settled through dialogue, cooperation, and national consensus.”

Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud on Wednesday noted that security forces “strived throughout four days to contain the situation in the Roumieh prison without any bloodshed.”

In an interview with OTV, Baroud added that he has asked Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi to open a probe into the death of two inmates, noting that “there will be a detailed probe and drastic measures.”

A meeting between Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza, Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi, and acting gendarmerie chief Salah Jebran on the situation of prisons in Lebanon was held on Wednesday at the Center House.

The gatherers said in a statement that the prison file concerns all governments and ministries and “the violation of jail security is a red line that should not be crossed.”

Security forces stormed Lebanon's notorious main prison of Roumieh on Tuesday where three prison guards were being detained by inmates who have been rioting since the weekend demanding an amnesty and better conditions.

"We have gained full control over the Roumieh prison after a joint operation by the army and the Internal Security Forces," said ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi after his arrival at the prison to follow up on the situation.

The Higher Defense Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday in the Baabda Palace to address the situation of Lebanese expatriates in the Ivory Coast.

The meeting, headed by President Michel Suleiman, stressed the need to place a plan to help the expatriates in the African country and provide the best means to evacuate those seeking to leave through the cooperation of the Lebanese Embassy, United Nations, and Ivory Coast authorities.

Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud on Tuesday criticized some parties for allegedly using the demands of inmates at Roumieh prison as instruments to achieve political objectives.

During a press conference he held after a meeting of the Central Security Council, Baroud said he was fully responsible for all issues linked to his post.

The Internal Security Forces leadership is investigating the involvement of wardens in the smuggling of drugs and mobile phones to inmates at Roumieh prison and would take “disciplinary measures” against them, ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said.

An Nahar newspaper said Monday a “scandal” erupted after several prisoners made phone calls to television stations from inside their cells during the two-day mutiny over the weekend.

Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi on Sunday announced the end of a two-day mutiny by inmates demanding an amnesty and better conditions in Lebanon's notorious main prison of Roumieh.

Rifi reassured "the Lebanese and the prisoners that the mutiny ended permanently and peacefully."