A Lebanese Shiite cleric who has angered politicians and religious leaders in Lebanon and Iraq has said that groups including Lebanon's Hezbollah are trying to silence voices of dissent within the sect — including his own.

Sheikh Yasser Auda has developed a reputation on social media in recent years for his criticism of corruption in Iraq and Lebanon. He has also spoken out against the use of violence against opponents of Iran-backed groups in the two crisis-hit countries. He vowed in an interview with The Associated Press not to bow down even if it costs him his life.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says it has decided to suspend all of its services in Lebanon's largest refugee camp on Friday in protest against the presence of gunmen in its facilities.

UNRWA's decision went into effect shortly before noon Friday at the Ain el-Helweh refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon. Services will resume Saturday, UNRWA said.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Friday offered condolences in Kahale to the family of Fadi Bejjani -- the man who was killed in the clash with Hezbollah members following the overturn of a Hezbollah truck in the town.

Caretaker Prime Minister may take a break from his duties "if some parties continue to obstruct the government's work," al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Friday.

The daily added that Mikati has informed Berri and other officials that he has run out of patience.

Acting Central Bank Governor Wassim Mansouri will visit Saudi Arabia in September for a series of meetings, LBCI television said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has pledged to pay $7.5 million out of the Primesouth’ overdue fees in return for an instant activation of the al-Zahrani and Deir Amar power plants "even if he has to pay for it out of his own pocket", al-Akhbar newspaper reported Friday.

Primesouth, the company that operates the al-Zahrani and Deir Amar power plants, resumed its services Thursday after a short outage.

Following the Lebanese opposition’s rejection of the latest French letter that demanded answers related to the presidential file, the French officials in charge of the Lebanon file have started “evaluating” the situation, a media report said.

French senator Nathalie Goulet slammed the French policy in Lebanon and Africa, as she criticized the French interference in the Lebanese affairs.

Goulet sarcastically described French envoy Jean Yves Le Drian as "spirited" and criticized him for sending questions to the Lebanese MPs, through the French embassy, about the required qualifications of their future president.

Four residents of the town of Kahale have been summoned for interrogation over the latest deadly clash with Hezbollah members, MTV reported.

“The four Kahale residents will not go to the Baabda intelligence department on Friday because they are demanding that those who killed Fadi Bejjani be handed over first,” the TV network added.

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said that Hezbollah and other "terrorist groups" have urged their sympathizers to take revenge for the Quran burnings that have taken place in Sweden.

He said that Swedish interests abroad had already been targeted, including an attempted attack on the diplomatic mission in Beirut last week and the storming of Sweden's Embassy in Baghdad last month.