The army ended an overnight clash that erupted between a French Patrol in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and a number of youths in the southern town of Aita al-Shaab, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

A number of youths assaulted the French patrol and pelted it with stones on Tuesday night after blocking its way, the NNA said.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati agreed with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Wednesday.

“The STL will be funded under any circumstance,” sources close to Jumblat told the daily.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat denied that he has asked to meet with Syria President Bashar Assad although informed sources said that Damascus froze its ties with the PSP chief.

In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Jumblat said he hasn’t asked for a meeting with Assad or Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Syrian officials have informed Lebanese Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn that Damascus is keen on supporting Premier Najib Miqati’s cabinet and has no interest in weakening it, As Safir daily reported Wednesday.

The newspaper said that the Syrian officials, including President Bashar Assad, told Ghosn during talks they held in Damascus on Monday that Syria “has no interest in weakening it (the Lebanese government).”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s sources refused to snap back at Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun saying the premier is keen on not bickering with any party.

In remarks to several Beirut dailies published Wednesday, the sources said that Miqati “is keen on not engaging in any dispute over the media campaigns” against him.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed Tuesday that his latest stances are not signs of a new political “realignment,” denying that he has requested to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Following talks with visiting Russian presidential envoy Mikhail Margelov, Jumblat said: “What I have said is not a realignment, it is only a reminder of what was agreed around the national dialogue table. It is beneficial for one to remember things every now and then.”

The Mustaqbal bloc stressed on Tuesday that the religious diversity in Lebanon helps spread the culture of moderation and forgiveness.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The democratic system that the Arab people are aspiring for respects religious, individual, and political freedoms without causing tensions with various minorities.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun slammed on Tuesday Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s recent statements, stressing that he is not targeting the Sunni sect, but the premier himself over his violation.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “Your sectarian bias won’t prevent us from criticizing you.”

Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh stated on Tuesday that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s recent statements reflect the concerns of the Christian community given the developments in region.

He said in a statement: “He has based his positions on Christian teaches that have defined the Christians’ role in the region.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged the Lebanese on Tuesday to forget about his statements that were allegedly taken out of context and stressed his rejection of differences in Lebanon and abroad.

At the start of his visit to the Upper Metn region, al-Rahi said: “We don’t want to shatter anyone. Lebanon needs all its citizens, parties, movements and sects.”