The Lebanese army staged raids on Thursday in the border towns of al-Qasr and Fiysan in the Hermel district and arrested two fugitives wanted on several arrest warrants, the National News Agency reported.

The raids were carried out at dawn, NNA added.

Several contacts away from the media spotlight were made in an attempt to mend the rift that plagued the only operating constitutional institution, as reports said that General Security chief Major Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has intervened in that regard to give momentum to a cabinet meeting set for Thursday and prevent its postponement, al-Joumhouria daily reported.

Ibrahim held a series of extensive meetings on Wednesday with officials, political leaders in addition to PM Tammam Salam in an attempt to find a solution, bring the conflicting points of views together to avoid further impasse, added the daily.

Defense Minister Samir Moqbel issued a decision on Saturday postponing the retirement of Higher Defense Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir until 21 August, 2017.

The decision came after a cabinet meeting held on Thursday failed to reach an agreement over the thorny issue of military appointments that included a decision on whether to extend the term of Kheir which ends August 28, or postpone it.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called on the international community to help stop the war in the Middle East pointing out that Lebanon can longer tolerate the burden of the exodus of Syrian refugees as a result.

“We urge the international community to speed up the solutions and impose a halt to the wars, fueled by foreign countries, raging in the Middle East,” said al-Rahi from Seoul where he takes part in a peace conference.

Civil Defense volunteers continued their protests on Saturday and held a sit-in near the technical fence south Lebanon on the border with the occupied Palestinian territories, the National News Agency reported.

They plan to erect a tent near the technical fence, added NNA.

One man was killed and six other people were injured on Saturday in a vehicle collision on the Jal el-Dib highway north of Beirut, the Traffic Management Center reported.

Initial reports had said that seven people were injured, but a man has died early Saturday as he succumbed to his wounds.

The Lebanese army and General Security kicked off contacts with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon after the Israeli incursions in the southern towns of Ghajar and Shebaa farms, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim visited on Friday the leadership headquarters of the UNIFIL and met with Maj. Gen. Michael Beary, the newly-appointed head of UNIFIL in Lebanon.

An unknown assailant tossed a hand grenade in the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, the National News Agency reported on Friday.

The grenade exploded in the al-Fawqani street without causing any casualties, NNA added.

Kataeb party chief MP Sami Gemayel stressed on Thursday that establishing a landfill in Bourj Hammoud region will trigger the emission of poisonous gases and smoke that will affect the whole area around it for the next two decades.

“The mountain of garbage in Bourj Hammoud must be addressed because it will emit poisonous gases and smoke for the next twenty years,” said Gemayel in a press conference.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam chaired a cabinet meeting on Thursday at the Grand Serail that failed to reach an agreement over the thorny issue of military appointments.