Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backed Lebanon's independence and stability as she voiced concern about tension there when she spoke Wednesday to Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, the State Department said.

Tension has been rising in Lebanon over the U.N.-backed tribunal, which is probing the 2005 assassination of Lebanese ex-premier Rafik Hariri, amid unconfirmed reports the court will indict members of Hizbullah.

Army troops beat up police Col. Hussein Saleh late Wednesday and arrested his son over traffic priority, media reports said.

They said a Lebanese army patrol that happened to be passing by when the colonel's son pulled his gun on a motorist over traffic priority arrested the young man.

Four women were injured when a rocket smashed into a building in north Lebanon's main city of Tripoli, the army said.

"A rocket hit the roof of a building in Jabal Mohsen, wounding four women," an army spokesman said, without elaborating.

Naharnet Special Report - The Hague

The International Media Forum agenda, organized by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague, reflects a completely different view on the Court from what is going on in Beirut.

Former head of General Security Department, Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, has filed a request with Judge Antonio Cassese, President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, asking him to disqualify STL Vice-President Judge Ralph Riachy, STL's press office announced Wednesday.

Sayyed claimed that Riachy had been directly involved in the process of his "arbitrary detention, the thing that raises questions about his integrity and impartiality."

House Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday that the Saudi-Syrian axis is the road to salvation, saying that the Lebanese should help themselves through their unity and cooperation in solving any problem.

He made his statements after holding talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus that addressed bilateral ties between Lebanon and Syria, latest developments in Lebanon, and efforts to tackle problems that are threatening its stability and security.

The Loyalty to the Resistance bloc noted on Wednesday that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon latest report on the implementation of resolution 1559 was "blatantly biased towards the Zionist enemy and its violations of international resolutions."

It accused in a statement after its weekly meeting headed by MP Mohammed Raad the United States of supporting division among the Lebanese "under the pretense of international justice."

French ambassador Denis Pietton on Wednesday reiterated his country's support for Lebanon's stability and for the International Tribunal.

His remarks came during a meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail.

The March 14 General Secretariat called on Wednesday Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun to lift bank secrecy off his accounts and those of his family.

It noted in a statement after its weekly meeting "Aoun's obvious confusion during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon and his attempts today to ease this confusion through coming up with illusory battles under the pretext of reform."

Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar stressed on Wednesday that the false witnesses file will never be transferred to the justice council because it is not within its jurisdiction.

He told the Saudi Okaz newspaper that the file cannot hinder the Special Tribunal for Lebanon regardless of the tensions in Lebanon.