Hundreds of citizens and civil society activists demonstrated Thursday afternoon in rejection of the extension of parliament's term, as security forces prevented them several times from crossing the barriers into Nejmeh Square which houses parliament's building.

Protesters carried banners highlighting the living conditions that the lawmakers have failed to address, such as the new rent law, and slogans against the extension of parliament's mandate, which will go into effect at midnight.

At least 18 Lebanese citizens have been expelled from Qatar, a government source in Beirut told Agence France Presse Thursday, after the Gulf Cooperation Council pledged to act against members of Hizbullah.

"Eighteen Lebanese have been expelled from Qatar, in the wake of the GCC decision," the source said on condition of anonymity, saying it was not clear if they were Hizbullah members.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour denied on Thursday that a dispute had erupted between him and President Michel Suleiman over Syria's violations of Lebanese territory.

He said after holding talks with European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst: “Suleiman did not present a complaint, but a message on the violations.”

Two people were wounded on Thursday during an armed clash with members of the Internal Security Forces in the northern city of Tripoli.

Sami and Bashir Hassoun were injured during the clash linked to the arrest of Ziad Hassoun.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday sent a cable of congratulations to Iran's President-elect Hassan Rowhani, hoping his election will open the door to Lebanese-Iranian relations “that are not only based on regional military alliances.”

“Your election as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran was well received by countries, people and forces of moderation, that look forward to a new and positive Iranian role in consolidating stability and openness and keeping discord away from our peoples,” Hariri said.

European Union nations failed to come to a decision to add the military wing of Hizbullah to the bloc's list of international terrorist groups despite fresh talks on the issue, diplomatic sources told Agence France Presse on Thursday.

At a meeting called on Wednesday at Britain's behest, the second this month, experts from the 27-nation bloc failed to reach a unanimous decision to blacklist the group, the sources said.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said Thursday that four men killed in the northeastern area of Wadi Rafeq would have been alive if Lebanese authorities had the manpower to control the border with Syria.

“Had the border areas been controlled, the four men wouldn't have been martyred,” Charbel said ahead of chairing a Central Security Council meeting at the ministry's headquarters.

President Michel Suleiman handed the Arab League on Thursday a memo urging warring sides in Syria to respect Lebanon's sovereignty, two days after taking an unprecedented move in sending a similar memo to the U.N.

Suleiman handed the memo to Ambassador Abdul Rahman al-Solh so that he refers it to Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The trial of former Information Minister Michel Samaha has been postponed to December, reported the National News Agency Thursday.

It explained that the postponement is aimed at granting time to summon Syrian security chief General Ali Mamlouk to the trial.

The Lebanese army made on Thursday a heavy deployment in the areas of al-Labweh and Arsal in the Northeast after residents of the two towns exchanged gunfire.

The deployment came amid high tension caused by sectarian splits in the country, which were exacerbated by the war in Syria.