The army on Tuesday reinforced its deployment in the northern city of Tripoli in the wake of the fierce weekend clashes with Islamist gunmen, as raids to arrest fugitives continued in the nearby region of Akkar.

Army units "are continuing their deployment in the areas of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the old souks in the city of Tripoli,” the Army Command said in a statement.

Lebanon suffers from severe gender inequality, according to the annual Gender Gap Index issued by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum on Tuesday.

The survey showed Lebanon falling to 135th place in the list of 142 nations after being ranked 123rd out of 136 countries surveyed last year.

A Lebanese man was injured on Tuesday after soldiers opened fire on him for failing to stop at a checkpoint in the northern district of Akkar, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said the Khaled Mkahhal was on his motorcycle when the soldiers manning the checkpoint on Mashta Hassan-Mashta Hammoud road ordered him to stop.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun noted on Tuesday that differences are a normal part of political life, stressing that he seeks national unity among Lebanese factions.

He said: “The differences are normal part of politics, which should be practiced calmly during this phase.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Tuesday that Christians should help Muslims to confront the assault against Islam by terrorists.

“The developments in the Middle East are not related to ethics or humanity in any way,” al-Rahi said during his visit to the state of Victoria in Australia.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam hoped on Tuesday that the international community is aware of Lebanon's huge financial needs to confront the burden of refugees.

“The refugees are affecting our economy and security ... We call for more funding to confront the repercussions of the refugee crisis,” Salam said at the opening of the Berlin conference on Syrian refugees, which was attended by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas.

German ambassador to Lebanon Christian Clages stressed on Tuesday that the International Support Group for Lebanon will discuss during a meeting the challenges facing the country and means to further aid the Lebanese army.

“Support for the Lebanese army is ongoing,” Clages said in an interview published in An Nahar newspaper.

Speaker Nabih Berri hailed the Lebanese army for "eradicating" terrorist groups in the northern city of Tripoli and nearby areas without making any compromises.

“The Lebanese army is one of the strongest militaries in the region but lacks arms and ammunition,” Berri told As Safir daily in remarks published on Tuesday.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri condemned on Tuesday calls to defect from the Lebanese army and the incitement of Sunnis to join terrorist groups, and reiterated that the nation would enjoy security only if Hizbullah withdrew from Syria.

“All calls to defect from the army and incite Sunni men in particular to … join armed organizations in Lebanon and abroad are condemned and rejected,” Hariri said in a lengthy statement issued by his press office.

A Qatari negotiator, mediating the release of captive soldiers and policemen, is expected to arrive in Lebanon on Tuesday to discuss with jihadists, who kidnapped the servicemen, their new demands.

Al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported that the Qatari mediator will head to the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal to directly discuss with the abductors their demands.