General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim acknowledged on Friday that the developments in Syria are affecting Lebanon and the formation of various armed groups in Lebanon is the result of the crisis in the neighboring country.

He said: “Lebanon however will not be dragged into a civil war.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun voiced on Friday his objection to the series of kidnappings that have taken place in Lebanon, saying that the causes of the incidents need to be addressed.

He said of the security unrest: “The instability will not spread to other areas because our political camp is containing it.”

The National Media Council decided on Friday against punishing audio-visual channels for their coverage of recent developments in Lebanon.

Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said after a meeting for the council that the media outlets that had broadcast the news of the death of the 11 kidnapped Lebanese pilgrims had offered their apologies to the families of the captives.

The increase in fighting in Syria and related clashes in Lebanon are hampering the work of the U.N. refugee agency as the number of those fleeing the violence reaches record levels.

"The deteriorating security situation in Lebanon is hampering our work to help refugees fleeing Syria's conflict, though operations are continuing," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Adrian Edwards said in Geneva Friday.

At least 129 people were killed across Syria on Friday as warplanes and artillery again pounded the northern hub of Aleppo and several other areas across the country, a watchdog said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said August is already the deadliest single month of the conflict with more than 4,000 people killed in barely three weeks, and an overall death toll of around 24,500.

U.S. military planners are studying contingency plans for a potential mission in Syria without precedent -- securing the regime's chemical weapons in the midst of a raging civil war, officials and experts said.

No military action is imminent at the moment, according to officials, but the Pentagon is grappling with an array of hellish scenarios that could emerge as the conflict escalates, with the Damascus regime possibly losing control of its chemical arsenal.

Turkish and U.S. officials Thursday began their first "operational planning" meeting aimed at bringing about the end of Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled regime.

The meeting is expected to coordinate military, intelligence and political responses to the crisis in Syria where a deadly crackdown on peaceful protests that began in March 2011 has according to activists claimed more than 23,000 lives.

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali hoped that Lebanon would fortify its border with Syria and prevent the smuggling of arms and infiltration of gunmen into Syrian territory, reported al-Nour radio on Thursday.

He told the radio: “Lebanon must fortify its internal scene and avoid responding to international pressure on Syria.”

The pope's safety could be at risk during a planned visit to Lebanon next month, a Jesuit priest who was recently forced to leave Syria warned Wednesday.

Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit Lebanon from September 14-16 to bring a message of peace and call for greater respect for religious pluralism.

As the passengers from battle-ravaged Aleppo disembarked at Yerevan's Zvartnots airport, tearful relatives gripped them tightly in emotional embraces.

"Thank God you've arrived safe and sound!" one cried out.