Syrian authorities on Sunday released two Lebanese citizens abducted by Syrian forces on Wednesday from the northern border town of al-Abboudiyeh.

The abduction led to an uproar in the region and prompted residents to block the international highway.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Sunday said his party has agreed to take part in national dialogue to underline that “we will not tolerate the continued presence of illegal arms outside state control.”

“We in the Phalange Party have supported the president’s call for dialogue, despite our awareness of the current negativities in the country and the other camp’s intentions, in order to create a national environment that allows the state to address people’s concerns away from the major political conflicts,” Gemayel said in a speech during the inauguration of a party office in the Batroun town of Kfar Abida.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called on the abductors of the Lebanese pilgrims in Syria to “put the issue of the innocents aside” and solve their problem with Hizbullah, stressing that the Lebanese state must be in charge of security in all areas and calling for a “constituent assembly” that would “put Lebanon on the right track.”

“We have said that the abductees are Lebanese citizens and that therefore the state is responsible for their dignity and for freeing them and we are helping the state as political parties. The state and the top officials are exerting serious efforts to reach a happy ending,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech during a rally organized by Hizbullah to commemorate the 23rd death anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Abu Abdullah al-Halabi, the official spokesman for the Syrian Revolutionary Council for Aleppo and its Countryside, on Friday stressed that his council had nothing to do with a previously unknown armed group which on Thursday claimed responsibility for the May 22 abduction of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims.

Halabi said a statement sent by the alleged abductors to Al-Jazeera television was not received by his council which learned about it from a “common mediator.”

U.N.-Arab League Special Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan on Friday said Lebanese authorities were doing everything possible to prevent arms smuggling across the border with Syria.

“We should deter arms smuggling and the Lebanese government informed me clearly that it prevents smuggling,” Annan said in a press conference at the Grand Serail following talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

Parts of the Hawd al-Wilaya Bridge in al-Basta al-Tahta area in Beirut collapsed on Thursday, prompting the Internal Security Forces to close it to traffic.

The ISF said in a statement that the collapse took place at around 3:30 p.m. and it has since closed off the bridge and diverted traffic around it.

The Military Court released from jail on Thursday Lebanese citizen, Ziad al-Homsi, after he served time on charges of collaborating with Israeli intelligence, reported al-Jadeed television.

Homsi was accused in December 2010 of collaborating with Israel and he was sentenced to 15 years in jail with hard labor.

President Michel Suleiman urged the Syrian authorities on Thursday to release the two Lebanese farmers who were kidnapped a day earlier in the border region of al-Abboudiyeh as the Syrian army abducted another citizen later on Thursday.

The Syrian army kidnapped Yehya Mohammed Fleiti in the border town of Arsal on Thursday afternoon.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Wednesday stressed the need to preserve national unity in Syria, warning against “falling into the traps of civil strife and sedition that are being set up by the regime.”

Commenting on the latest abduction and counter-abduction operations in the Syrian provinces of Daraa and Soueida, Jumblat called for “turning this painful page” and extended gratitude to “everyone who contributed to ending this problem, especially the three spiritual leaders, the dignitaries of Soueida and Daraa, and the revolution coordination committees in the two regions.”

Syrian troops kidnapped on Wednesday two Lebanese farmers in the border region of al-Abboudiyeh.

The residents in the area blocked the international road in protest against the development.