Slain clerics Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and his companion Sheikh Mohammed al-Merheb were laid to rest on Monday in the Akkar town of al-Bireh, amid tensions and intense shooting into the air by gunmen who deployed heavily at the funeral’s site.

Throngs of people gathered in the town to attend the funeral in the afternoon.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Trial Chamber has scheduled a hearing on June 13 to hear arguments on the jurisdiction of the STL and the legality of its creation, announced the tribunal in statement on Monday.

“The defense counsel representing the four accused - Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra - filed motions recently challenging the legality and jurisdiction of the tribunal,” it said.

U.S. Special Advisor for Regional Affairs Ambassador Frederic Hof visited Lebanon on Monday and met with senior government officials to continue technical discussions on Lebanon’s maritime boundaries, said the U.S. Embassy in a statement.

Hof “encouraged Lebanon to continue its engagement to resolve its maritime boundaries” and “reaffirmed the United States’ support for the development of offshore oil and gas reserves in a manner that contributes to peace, stability, and prosperity,” said the embassy.

Deputy Head of Hizbullah's Executive Council Sheikh Nabil Qaouq accused on Tuesday the March 14 forces’ “catastrophic” policy has led Lebanon towards “major dangers.”

He demanded that the “heavy weapons” that were used in northern Lebanon should be employed in a defense strategy for Lebanon.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Monday that the swift investigation into the death of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed demonstrates the need to support the army.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “The army should be supported in order to avert sliding into strife.”

France on Monday condemned the latest deadly violence in Syria and Lebanon, warning that “the persistence of repression (in Syria) jeopardizes regional security.”

“We express our regret over the killing of two clergymen in northern Lebanon,” Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and his companion Sheikh Mohammed al-Merheb, said Bernard Valero, the French foreign ministry’s spokesman.

Phalange Party chief Amin Gemayel demanded on Monday that an investigation into the death of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and his aide Sheikh Mohammed Merheb be launched as soon as possible “for the sake of maintaining Lebanon’s higher interest.”

He said: “Officials should set Lebanon as a priority in order to avoid instability.”

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly voiced on Monday concern over the violence that has occurred in Lebanon recently, including in Tripoli last week and over the weekend that in Akkar which led to the deaths of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Merheb and those subsequently here in Beirut.

He said in a statement: “It is important that there be no further repetition of such violence and that the incidents that have occurred be fully and thoroughly investigated.”

The Higher Islamic Council deemed on Monday the murder of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and his companion Sheikh Mohammed Merheb on Sunday as an assassination.

It said in a statement after a meeting at Dar al-Fatwa: “We demand that the case be referred to the judicial council.”

Kuwait advised its citizens on Monday to avoid travel to Lebanon and its nationals currently present in the country to leave due to the unstable security situation.

“The Kuwaiti authorities call on its citizens not to travel to Lebanon amid the tense security developments in the country,” the official KUNA news agency said.