A member of the Internal Security Forces was killed Friday night when a clash broke out between the al-Qaq and al-Dar families in the Bir Hassan neighborhood in Beirut, reported the National News Agency on Saturday.

It explained that heavy machine guns were used in the dispute.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly informed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi of her country’s disappointment with his recent statements, reported As Safir on Saturday.

Al-Rahi had recently stated that Hizbullah’s arms are a product of the Israeli occupation, which sparked Connelly’s consternation.

Heavy gunshots were fired from Syria towards villages in the northern region of Akkar Friday night, creating a state of panic among the residents in the area, reported Voice of Lebanon radio on Saturday.

Several of them consequently moved to nearby villages in al-Rihanieh and Wadi Khaled to escape the gunshots.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon encouraged on Thursday Lebanon to invest in its natural resources that are located in areas that are not under dispute, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

It revealed that Ban “surprised” the Lebanese delegation in New York by bringing up the issue of U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, especially regarding the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon.

President Michel Suleiman stated on Friday that Lebanon’s position at the United Nations Security Council on the developments in Syria “does not place it in a compromising position,” revealing that he encouraged Syrian President Bashar Assad to pave the way for democracy.

He told MTV in an interview: “I advised him against ignoring his people’s demands.”

Former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir will not address the political situation in Lebanon during the Saturday’s mass commemorating the fallen members of the Lebanese Forces, revealed information obtained by Naharnet on Friday.

Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will be unable to attend, but he will send his deputy Roland Abu Jaoude who will deliver a speech on the patriarch’s behalf.

The United States considers the ongoing popular protests in Syria and a number of Arab countries as “a reflection of the ambitions of these countries’ peoples, their aspiration for freedom and democracy, and their adherence to all of their political and civil rights,” a western diplomatic source stressed.

In an interview with Naharnet, the source noted that “the U.S. administration believes it is Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s right to express the concerns and aspirations of his community during this period.

Autumn’s first rains spread chaos on Lebanese roads on Friday as a heavy downpour caused bumper-to-bumper traffic blocking drivers in their vehicles.

All entrances to Beirut were blocked as drivers waited for hours to reach their destinations after rains flooded the streets.

Abir, her husband and two sons are bracing for their first winter as Syrian refugees in Lebanon's impoverished mountain area of Wadi Khaled, near the northern border with Syria.

Locking the door behind her, Abir removes the black niqab from her face and sits her two sons on a futon in the single room she shares with her family in an abandoned school in the scenic village of Mashta Hammoud.

The U.S. embassy in Lebanon warned its citizens to avoid Palestinian refugee camps and large gatherings in light of the expected showdown at the United Nations over Palestinian statehood.

"The U.S. embassy in Lebanon is alerting U.S. citizens to a possibility of a surge in demonstrations in Beirut and around Lebanon in the coming days," the embassy said in an emergency message sent to its nationals.