The Internal Security Forces raided on Saturday the house of the murderer of Wissam Bleiq, a member of Beirut's firefighting department, and arrested his two wives in addition to five people who helped him flee to Syria, the ISF said in a statement on Saturday.

Supporters of incumbent municipal chief of Akkar al-Atiqa in the district of Akkar, Khaled al-Bahri, blocked roads on Saturday protesting his decision to resign and withdraw his nomination from the upcoming municipal elections, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The campaigners blocked the road with dirt in front of the polling stations in the Akkar Secondary School.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah emphasized that he will take severe regulatory measures against any of his supporters who fire guns into the air during his speeches, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

“Don't be surprised if one day you hear that a certain division of Hizbullah has been dissolved because of shooting firearms into the air. The decision will be announced in media outlets,” al-Akhbar quoted Nasrallah as saying.

Fourty-eight hours before the polling stations open in the North and Akkar governorates, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq followed up on the administrative, security and logistical preparations to ensure a smooth municipal electoral process on Sunday, al-Joumhouria daily reported.

The total number of voters eligible to vote in the governorate of the North is 580,095, while 269,910 voters in the district of Akkar, said the daily.

The General Security announced that it has arrested a Palestinian refugee for his activity in trading arms and ammunition, the state-run National News Agency reported on Friday.

“Within its framework to follow-up the activities of terror groups and its sleeper cells, the General Security arrested, based on the Public Prosecutor's request, Palestinian refugee A.A. for having activities in the trade of weapons and ammunition,” said a statement issued by the General Security Directorate.

Military sources stressed on Friday that the security situation in the eastern Bekaa Valley has been controlled and that the army has deployed its troops to counter any reactions following a spat of revenge killings in the area, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

“The security situation in Bekaa is under control. The army has carried out a wide deployment plan amid fears that responses could arise after Maarouf Hamieh killed Mohammed al-Hujeiri,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

U.S. Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser stressed that his country is keen on Lebanon’s stability, assuring that the U.S. sanctions law only targets Hizbullah, As Safir daily reported on Friday.

“There is no random or discretionary application of the U.S. law, and there are no intentions to target a specific Lebanese group. We have announced that the aim of the law is to fight Hizbullah. We are not visiting the country to negotiate the law with Lebanese delegations, but to discuss the ways of its implementation,” the daily quoted Glaser during his visit to Lebanon.

The U.S. Department of State's Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos J. Hochstein encouraged during his visit to Lebanon on Thursday the government officials to take advantage of Lebanon’s potential to attract investment to successfully develop its hydrocarbon sector.

Amos met with several Lebanese officials where discussions focused on the Lebanese and regional energy issues.

The joint parliamentary committees tasked with drafting an electoral law postponed Thursday's session, that was scheduled primarily to discuss the hybrid electoral draft-law, until June 1 after the withdrawal of MP Ali Ammar.

MP Ali Fayyad said after the meeting that “Ammar's withdrawal had to do with the agenda of the meeting.”

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Thursday that the prolonged political crisis can only further weaken Lebanon which cannot afford to wait for the region to solve its problems before it addresses this issue.

“On 25 May 2016 Lebanon enters its third year without a President. The sovereignty, stability, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon are important for the European Union. Lebanon remains an example of freedom, diversity and tolerance for the region, but the prolonged political crisis can only further weaken the country and its institutions in facing its many challenges. Lebanon cannot afford to wait for the region to solve its problems before it addresses this issue,” said Mogherini.