Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Sunday that he gave his blessing to the new cabinet when President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati signed the decrees of its formation.

Before heading to the Vatican, al-Rahi said the government should meet the expectations of the Lebanese and its top priority should be to restore trust and unity among the people.

The Lebanese army is expected to remain in a state of alert in the northern port city of Tripoli for a period of three to six months to contain the latest deadly clashes that erupted between Alawites and Sunnis over a rally against the Syrian government.

Officials in Tripoli that are in contact with security authorities told An Nahar daily published Sunday that “the army succeeded in putting an end to the lava of the Syrian volcano and would continue along with the security forces to confront” a new eruption.

Britain urged its nationals on Saturday to leave Syria "now" by commercial means, warning that its embassy in Damascus would unlikely be able to help them if the situation deteriorates further.

"British nationals should leave now by commercial means whilst these are still operating," the Foreign Office said in updated travel advice.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday urged a transition to democracy in Syria, saying in a commentary in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that the regime crackdown would not quell the momentum for change.

In an English translation provided by the State Department, Clinton wrote under the headline "There Is No Going Back in Syria" that it was "increasingly clear" the crackdown was an irreversible shift in the country's push towards reform.

A cautious calm has fallen over Tripoli following Friday’s unrest between gunmen in the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, as media reports said that intermittent gunfire was heard near the area on Saturday morning.

The unrest broke out when Bab al-Tabbaneh residents staged a demonstration in support of the Syrian people, while the other neighborhood staged a demonstration in support for the Syrian regime.

The United States is studying whether war crimes charges can be brought against Syria to pressure its regime to end a bloody crackdown on dissent, a senior administration official said Friday.

The official said other measures, including sanctions targeting the country's oil and gas sector, were being considered as part of a broader diplomatic campaign to increase pressure on Syria's President Bashar Assad.

Syrian security forces killed at least 12 people when they opened fire on protesters on Friday, rights activists said, as France urged tougher EU sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The protests after the main weekly Muslim prayers came as the army pressed its campaign against northern towns and the number of refugees fleeing across the border into Turkey neared 10,000.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized on Friday claims that the new government has garnered several seats for the country’s Christians, saying that the ministers will not serve their portfolios and sect, but only those who appointed them.

He asked before a visiting delegation: “How can the Christians benefit from confronting the decisions of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the international and Arab communities?”

President Michel Suleiman is expected to visit Syria after the adoption of the cabinet’s policy statement and parliament’s vote of confidence, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Friday.

Suleiman is reportedly said to visit Syria to meet his counterpart President Bashar Assad.

Telecoms tycoon Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad who is on a list of 13 Syrians facing EU sanctions, said Thursday he will allocate profits from his businesses to charity.

"Profits from the shares I own in Syriatel will be allocated to charity, humanitarian work and development projects" for people across Syria, Makhlouf said in a statement obtained by Agence France Presse.