Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has so far excluded Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea from his visit to top Lebanese officials after the latter refused to hold talks with presidential candidate Aley MP Henri Helou, a report said Tuesday.

Helou, who is the centrist PSP's candidate for the presidency, had contacted the LF leadership to set a date for a meeting with Geagea, al-Akhbar daily quoted PSP officials as saying.

When jihadists raided their ancient heartland last month, Iraq's Christian Assyrians were left defenseless and fled, but now some have decided it is time to put up a fight.

In Sharafiya, a village that Kurdish peshmerga retook from Islamic State (IS) fighters just north of the jihadist hub of Mosul, the homes are still empty and only a few armed men can be seen patrolling.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted on Friday that the state is faced with two options regarding the release of the soldiers and policemen held captive by Islamist militants from Syria.

He said via Twitter: “The army should attempt to free them by force, which requires complete coordination with the international coalition against the Islamic State group.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea questioned on Wednesday Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's opposition to the United States-led strikes against jihadist Islamic State positions in the region.

He asked Nasrallah: “Would you have maintained your initial rejection of the international coalition against the IS had Iran been part of it?”

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc renewed on Tuesday its position that electing a president is a priority over all others.

It stressed after its weekly meeting that this election will pave the way to holding the parliamentary polls.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea lamented on Monday the current situation in Lebanon, criticizing how some major files are being tackled.

He said via Twitter: “A number of strategic errors have led Lebanon to this current state.”

Speaker Nabih Berri expected a parliamentary session scheduled to be held on Tuesday to meet the fate of its predecessors and fail in electing a new president.

“No progress has been made so far on an agreement to elect a new head of state,” said Berri in remarks published in al-Joumhouria daily on Monday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea shrugged off the deterioration of the security situation in the country, saying the biggest danger facing Lebanon lies in the disintegration of state institutions.

The danger posed by jihadists and battles are so far limited, Geagea told the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea rejected on Thursday proposals that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun assume the presidency for a year or two.

He told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA): “I reject the proposal because Aoun is not the appropriate president for Lebanon at the current time due to his political agenda.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat welcomed on Wednesday Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun's national considerations into running for the presidency.

“I am convinced with Aoun's patriotic rational behind his candidacy,” said Jumblat following talks with the FPM leader in Clemenceau.