The Jezzine by-election scheduled for Sunday are predicted to witness a battle between three candidates, some of whom enjoy the support of the main Christian parties of the Free Patriotic Movement, Lebanese Forces, and Kataeb, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

The main candidates are Amal Abou Zeid, backed by the FPM, LF, and Kataeb, Ibrahim Azar, the son of former MP Samir Azar, and Patrick Rizkallah, a former FPM activist.

The deadline to submit candidacies to the fill the vacant parliamentary seat in the southern area of Jezzine ended on Friday night, said the National News Agency on Saturday.

It said that seven candidates will be running for the post.

Security forces are questioning several suspects who were arrested in the southern district of Jezzine on suspicion of plotting to free Islamist prisoners loyal to Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday.

The daily said that the cell was planning to attack the Jezzine prison to free the inmates who were arrested during and after clashes between gunmen loyal to al-Asir and the Lebanese army in June 2013.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun's convoy came under gunfire in the southern port city of Sidon on Saturday while he was returning from Jezzine.

Aoun's press office confirmed the incident after denying it for “security reasons.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun kicked off on Saturday a visit to the southern region of Jezzine where he stressed the importance of national unity and mutual coexistence.

He said: “We defend ourselves with national unity.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stressed the importance of the complementary role of the army and resistance, reported al-Akhbar newspaper on Saturday.

He explained that the Lebanese army is functioning as a border guard “and it would be incapable of defending Lebanon in case of an assault, especially an Israeli one."

The Lebanese army intelligence in the south has arrested the leader of a network allegedly spying for Israel and providing it with information on Hizbullah, As Safir daily reported Friday.

The newspaper quoted informed sources as saying that the army was questioning the man identified only with his initials as M.S. over years of collaboration with Israel in the areas of Jezzine and Kfarhouna.