The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday Hizbullah's fighting Syria, linking its involvement to the eruption of clashes in the northern city of Tripoli.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Hizbullah's unjustified war is part of its agenda to empty the Lebanese state of its institutions.”

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday that Iran and Hizbullah were "propping up" Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"It is very clear that the Syrian regime is receiving a great deal of support, increasing support in recent months from outside Syria from Hizbullah and Iran,” Hague said in a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh in Amman.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati warned on Wednesday that the persistence of the “severe political divisions” in Lebanon will “inevitably” lead to the collapse of the state, urging all sides to rise above sectarianism.

He said before his visitors: “The interests of sects should not act as independent identities that prevent national unity and eliminate Lebanon's uniqueness.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat called on Wednesday for full support to the Lebanese army's missions, warning that any failure to provide political and security coverage for the military's missions in the northern city of Tripoli would be considered a conspiracy.

“All political parties are required today more than ever, to back the Lebanese army,”stressed Jumblat in a statement on Wednesday.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi met on Wednesday Pope Francis I with whom he took part in the daily mass held at the Vatican.

The patriarch then held a closed-door meeting with the pontiff during which he requested that he offer his blessing to Lebanon and the Middle East.

Clashes in the northern city of Tripoli intensified Wednesday afternoon, a day after fierce battles rocked the city, claiming the lives of at least 12 people.

Meanwhile, the meetings of the leaders of the Bab al-Tabbaneh's fighting frontiers failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in the city, LBCI television revealed.

Syria's opposition urged the Arab League and the Lebanese government on Wednesday to prevent the continued influx of Hizbullah fighters into Syria.

"We call on the Arab League and its secretary general to take a stance befitting these events," said Acting National Coalition opposition chief George Sabra.

Supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir blocked several roads in Sidon on Wednesday to stop the burial of a Hizbullah fighter at a Sunni cemetery in the southern coastal city.

Media reports said several Sidon residents joined the protest.

Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn called on officials to stop meddling in the country's security, pointing out that the country will most likely fall into sedition if the clashes in the northern city of Tripoli weren't controlled by the army.

“The army is playing an important role in the northern city... It was granted the green light by the political power to do what is necessary,” Ghosn said in comments to Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3)on Wednesday.

Efforts exerted by Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam hit several roadblocks this week after fighting engulfed the northern city of Tripoli and Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war drew strong local and international condemnation.

A proposal to give the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance, the March 14 coalition and the centrists eight ministers each in the new cabinet collapsed after Hizbullah's involvement in the fighting in Syria, informed sources told An Nahar daily published Wednesday.