Turkey has requested that Lebanon reduce its “media uproar” over the 11 Lebanese pilgrims who were kidnapped in Syria nearly two weeks ago in order to allow it to resolve the case, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

Sources monitoring the situation stated that the abductors chose to raise their demands for the release of the captives once they noticed the great media and political attention the case has been receiving.

The army on Sunday announced that it has completed its deployment in Tripoli’s Syria Street and all neighborhoods in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, as the Internal Security Forces stressed they “will not be tolerant with anyone anymore,” after 15 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in fierce street clashes.

Army units “deployed in all the neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in addition to Syria Street, contrary to what some media outlets reported, while other units belonging to the ISF will deploy later in these areas,” said a statement issued by the Army Command in the afternoon.

Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami called on Saturday the cabinet to hold an extraordinary session to confront the ongoing “farce” in Tripoli, the National News Agency reported.

“The government should unleash the security forces in order to control the situation by force and to disarm the militias,” Karami said.

Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi stressed on Saturday that contacts are ongoing to release the 11 abducted Lebanese pilgrims in the Syrian province of Aleppo.

“The important thing is that they are safe and we hope that they would be released soon,” Roknabadi told reporters after holding talks with Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun in his residence in Rabieh.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati urged Lebanese leaders on Saturday to attend the National Dialogue session scheduled to convene on June 11, stressing that stability requires the resumption of all-party talks.

“We have to maintain Lebanon's stability through the resumption of the national dialogue,” Miqati told reporters.

Secretary-General of the Arab Democratic Party Rifaat Eid said Saturday that two Lebanese farmers, who were kidnapped by Syrian forces in al-Abboudiyeh earlier this week, will be released soon.

“Mohammed Yassine al-Merehbi and Mehdi Hamdan will be in Lebanon in the next few hours,” he said after his party mediated for their release.

A day before his scheduled visit to Kuwait, President Michel Suleiman said Saturday that the Lebanese are anxiously waiting for Kuwaiti tourists this summer.

In an interview with the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, Suleiman said: “The Lebanese will not forget the support of the Kuwaiti emir, the government and the people.”

March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid said Saturday that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s statements dealt a blow to President Michel Suleiman’s invitation for dialogue.

Nasrallah called on Friday for the creation of an elected or appointed constituent assembly to build a strong state and end sectarian divisions. He urged Suleiman to weigh the creation of such an assembly during the National Dialogue that is set to be held at Baabda palace on June 11.

A Syrian priest was hospitalized in the eastern Lebanese city of Zahle after suffering injuries in the Syrian town of al-Qusair, in Homs province, during a gunfight between troops and rebels, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said Father Elia Mikhael Jreij, 33, was admitted to Tal Shiha hospital in Zahle to treat the gunshot wound in his left leg.

President Michel Suleiman said he hasn’t pressured al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri to respond to him on an invitation for the National Dialogue at Baabda Palace set for June 11.

In remarks to As Safir daily published Saturday, Suleiman said: “I didn’t ask him to attend the dialogue session but discussions focused on the advantages and the disadvantages of the National Dialogue.”