U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly stressed on Sunday the importance of having the issue of “illegal arms” on the agenda of the National Dialogue that President Michel Suleiman has called for.

In an interview with Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5), Plumbly said the illegal weapons create alarm.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday expressed concern that interminable unrest in Syria is "contributing to instability" in neighboring Lebanon.

Armed clashes between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime have taken place in recent weeks in both the northern city of Tripoli and the capital Beirut.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon warned that the threat of the conflict in Syria might spill over into Lebanon amid the rise in security incidents in the country.

“We are very much worried about this kind of spillover effect,” Ban reiterated in an interview with CNN on Thursday night.

The request of the March 14 forces for the formation of a neutral salvation government during a conference held on Thursday came after three weeks of preparations when the opposition discovered that the Syrian regime is preparing to ignite tension in Lebanon, high-ranking March 14 sources said Friday.

“The preparation for the meeting began around three weeks ago when it became clear that the Syrian regime had decided that the decision of steering Lebanon clear (of the crisis in Syria) was over and that this regime was preparing something for Lebanon,” sources told An Nahar daily.

A request by Free Patriotic Movement cabinet ministers to task the army with controlling the security in the North and put the Internal Security Forces under its command was rejected by ministers loyal to Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, media reports said Thursday.

Several Beirut dailies quoted sources as saying that the FPM ministers called during the session held at Baabda palace for the implementation of article four of the defense law similar to the measures taken in the eastern Bekaa valley to strike with an iron fist any attempt to tamper with the security of the northern province of Akkar.

Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji called on the military on Wednesday to be keen on the lives of the Lebanese by carrying out its mission responsibly following unrest in Northern Lebanon and Beirut.

The latest incidents in the North “proved once again that everyone relies on your role to prevent sedition and impose stability,” Qahwaji said in the Order of the Day on the occasion of Liberation Day, which falls on Friday.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc noted on Tuesday that the government has demonstrated in the past few months a “complete inability to maintain the security of the people.”

It demanded in a statement after its weekly meeting “Prime Minister Najib Miqati to immediately resign in order for stability to be restored in Lebanon.”

Saudi King Abdullah stated on Tuesday that the kingdom is monitoring the situation in Lebanon with “deep concern” following the clashes in Tripoli, “especially since they targeted a main sect in the country.”

He said in a cable to President Michel Suleiman: “We look forward to you ending the crisis, which may spiral into sectarian strife.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Tuesday that he will continue on assuming his responsibilities.

He said before reporters in the northern city of Tripoli: “There are no problems in referring Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and Mohammed Mereb’s murders to the judicial council.”

Judge Saqr Saqr decided on Tuesday to release Shadi al-Mawlawi after over a week in custody.

He declared upon his release that he was “wrongfully arrested for aiding Syrian refugees in Lebanon.”