The United States has expressed deep concern on the Syrian civil war’s spill over into Lebanon and called on all sides to exercise restraint following a string of kidnappings.

“We are deeply concerned about spillover from the Syrian crisis that could impact on the stability, on the sovereignty of Lebanon, and we firmly condemn kidnapping as a tactic,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Thursday.

A Turkish man became the second foreigner to be kidnapped in Lebanon since al-Meqdad clan and another obscure group went on an abduction spree of Syrians and Turkish nationals on Wednesday to pressure the Free Syrian Army in releasing a member of the clan.

The National News Agency said Friday that Abd Basset Orssolane was abducted in the area of Choueifat near the Coca Cola factory.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel shrugged off criticism on Friday that the Lebanese government failed in dealing with the cases of the kidnapped Lebanese in Syria.

“It sought to resolve the matter calmly and requested help from everyone to resolve the case,” Charbel told al-Liwaa newspaper.

A national dialogue session held at Beiteddine palace on Thursday was marred by a dispute between al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora and Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad on the party’s arsenal.

During the session, Saniora said illegitimate weapons were responsible for the series of abductions of Syrians and allegedly a Turkish national by al-Meqdad clan to demand the release of Hassan al-Meqdad, who was kidnapped by Free Syrian Army members in Syria earlier this week.

Abu Ibrahim, the abductor of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims, on Thursday appeared in a video apparently filmed minutes after the deadly airstrike on Aleppo’s Aazaz, in which he confirmed that four of the captives were killed and said the other seven were "in great danger.

“Bashar Assad’s warplanes that are supported by the U.N. Security Council and the international community have bombarded the buildings and the hospitals,” Abu Ibrahim, his face soaked in blood, says in the video which was broadcast by Lebanese TV networks.

The cabinet on Thursday decided to grant public sector employees a wage hike similar to that recently granted to private sector employees, and formed a ministerial crisis cell tasked with following up on the issue of the Lebanese abductees in Syria.

The wage hike will have a retroactive effect starting from February 1, 2012, pending the approval of the new salary scale, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq told reporters after the session.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned on Thursday the recent kidnapping of Lebanese nationals in Syria and the abduction of Syrians and other nationals in Lebanon.

He said in a statement: “A wrong cannot be solved with another wrong.”

Al-Meqdad clan announced on Thursday a halt to all of its military operations throughout Lebanon.

Head of al-Meqdad Association Maher al-Meqdad announced during a press conference: “As of this moment, we have halted all military operations because we have a sufficient number of Syrian captives affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, as well as the Turkish national.”

Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday stressed to visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that “Lebanon is fulfilling its humanitarian duties towards the Syrian refugees and the Lebanese and Syrian peoples are like one people.”

“The abduction of the 11 Lebanese is the reason behind this antipathy, but the two peoples will remain brothers under all circumstances,” Berri added.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Thursday the importance of national unity during the current tense security situation in Lebanon.

He told reporters after the national dialogue session: “Arrest warrants will be issued against those who violated security in Lebanon and the airport road will not be blocked again.”