Clashes with machineguns erupted on Tuesday in the Beirut southern suburb of al-Kafaat between members of the al-Moqdad family and “others from Hizbullah,” MTV reported.

The clashes broke out “after Hizbullah members arrested members of the al-Moqdad family for robbing a store,” MTV said.

Lebanese abductee Suleiman al-Ahmed was released by Syrian authorities on Tuesday and returned to the northern town of Wadi Khaled, where town dignitaries and officials celebrated his release.

At the courtyard of al-Hisheh municipality, heavy celebratory gunfire erupted as al-Ahmed arrived at his hometown where he was welcomed by a mass rally.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc said on Tuesday that national dialogue is “useless if it does not tackle Hizbullah arms,” adding that “the rhetoric of treason accusations and threats” indicates bad intentions.

The bloc issued a statement after its weekly meeting, saying that “certain stances expressed at the dialogue session echo the accusations of treason and threats, which reflects the bad intentions of some groups.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday called on the government to address the situation in the Bekaa and the North and to “take control of security” there, following the “Baabda Declaration” agreed by the members of the national dialogue committee on Monday.

“We announced that the outcome of dialogue was positive given that everyone agreed on that and we hope everyone will abide by its resolutions,” Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc in Rabiyeh.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Tuesday released a media advisory reminding that its Trial Chamber will hold sessions on June 13 and 14 to hear arguments from the Prosecution, the defense counsel and the legal representatives of victims on the tribunal’s jurisdiction and the legality of its creation.

Below is the full text of the media advisory:

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel set July 15 as the date for the by-election to replace late MP Farid Habib.

The election will take place in the Koura district to fill the vacant Greek Orthodox seat in parliament.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly said Tuesday the use of arms in highly populated areas needs to be resolved through long term steps to prevent recurrence of violence.

Following talks with Mufti of Tripoli Sheikh Malek al-Shaar, Plumbly said: “The presence and use of arms in civilian and highly populated areas is of particular concern and needs to be resolved.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati said on Tuesday that the national security institutions are the backbone for “the strong and capable state,” adding that no one can lure Lebanon away from its decision to distance itself from the developments in Syria.

He stressed the need to “morally and financially support the army seeing as it guarantees civil peace and embodies national unity.”

The United Arab Emirates has renewed its call on its citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon and Syria over the security situation in the two countries despite a visit by President Michel Suleiman to Abu Dhabi to review the decision.

In a statement released on Monday, the UAE foreign ministry advised citizens not to travel to Lebanon and Syria out of its keenness on the safety of the nationals abroad.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said the Lebanese charge d’affaires in Libya was tasked with following up the arrest of Lebanese interpreter Helene Assaf along with three envoys from the International Criminal Court.

The charge d’affaires will provide us with the latest developments on the case, Mansour told MTV after a judicial source said on Monday that Libyan authorities put the four envoys in "preventive" detention in prison for 45 days while investigating an alleged threat to national security.