United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly condemned on Monday the clashes in the northern city of Tripoli and Sunday's rocket attack in Beirut's southern suburbs.

He said after holding talks with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati: “I expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Lebanese army, the security authorities and the caretaker premier himself in trying to calm down and contain the security situation in Tripoli.”

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi agreed on Monday to coordinate with the rest of the country's religious leaders to prevent strife.

A statement issued by Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's top Sunni religious authority, said Qabbani telephoned al-Rahi and congratulated him on his safe return to Lebanon from a month-long trip abroad.

After the return of calm to the northern city of Tripoli on Monday those who hid in shelters or moved to other areas took stock of the damage caused by a week of deadly fighting between gunmen from rival neighborhoods.

The National News Agency said the majority of residents in the tense neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh, Jabal Mohsen, al-Baqqar, al-Rifa and al-Mankoubine returned to their homes as the army deployed heavily in the city.

Army units on Sunday started implementing a security plan in Tripoli by deploying in Jabal Mohsen and Syria Street, the frontier that separates the neighborhood from the rival Bab al-Tabbaneh district, state-run National News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, LBCI television said the army also deployed in the al-Qobbeh and al-Riva areas.

Head of the Independence Movement Michel Mouawad slammed on Sunday Hizbullah's fighting Syria, saying that it is aimed at achieving Iranian interests in the region.

He said in a press conference: “The battle of al-Qusayr is aimed at linking Hizbullah-controlled Lebanese regions to Syrian Alawite-controlled regions in order to divide Syria in the future.”

Calm was restored overnight in the northern city of Tripoli, reported the National News Agency Sunday.

It said that calm prevailed over the areas that witnessed clashes over the past week, adding that some intermittent gunfire could be heard.

Clashes between gunmen from rival neighborhoods in the northern city of Tripoli left three people dead as fighting intensified on Saturday morning.

The clashes that had subsided at dawn, again spiraled out of control in the morning with fighters from both Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen using rockets and other heavy weapons.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Premier-designate Tammam Salam, and former PM Fouad Saniora and Omar Karami condemned on Friday the clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, calling on security agencies to tackle the situation.

They said in a statement after meeting at the Grand Serail: “The dangerous political and security situation requires speeding up the formation of a new government that can take the necessary measures to tackle the unrest.”

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly reiterated on Friday calls for political foes to carry out the parliamentary elections according to “international standards.”

“The U.N. is involved in providing technical support to the Ministry of Interior in the preparations for elections... Lebanese leaders must ensure the continuity of institutions,” Plumbly said after holding talks with Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

President Michel Suleiman noted on Friday that the Lebanese people are “willingly” turning Lebanon into a battle ground through the unrest in the northern city of Tripoli and through fighting in the Syrian region of al-Qusayr.

He said on the occasion of the Resistance and Liberation Day: “The concept of resistance must rise above strife on the internal scene or in fraternal countries.”