Thousands of Syrians marched Monday in the southern town of Daraa after the funeral of a protester killed in the previous day's demonstration inspired by revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, a resident said.

The resident said "a mass of demonstrators started to march from the cemetery towards Al-Omari mosque after the burial" of Raed Akrad, who was killed by security forces on Sunday when they used live ammunition to break up a protest.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel believed that Hizbullah’s victory in the July 2006 war would be a “disaster” for Lebanon, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar on Monday.

The WikiLeaks cable spoke of a meeting between Gemayel and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman during which the former explained that a Hizbullah victory would allow the party to completely control Lebanon and empower its Iranian and Syrian allies in the region.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has stressed that Syria wasn’t interfering in the cabinet formation process and said his efforts were making a “slow progress.”

“Syria has never interfered,” Miqati told An Nahar daily in remarks published Monday.

One person was killed and more than 100 people were wounded as Syrian security forces fired live bullets and tear gas at thousands of demonstrators in the town of Daraa on Sunday, a human rights activist at the scene said.

"The security forces backed by police fired live rounds at the demonstrators, numbering more than 10,000," the witness told Agence France Presse by telephone. "They are also firing tear gas mixed with toxic products."

An Iranian cargo plane en route to Syria was forced to land in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir airport for an inspection, security forces said Sunday.

The plane, a civilian Ilyushin, landed on Saturday night on the orders of the Turkish authorities. Military fighter planes were on standby in case the plane refused to comply.

Newly elected Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stated that visiting Syria is not “taboo”, adding that he would relay Christian insecurities to officials in Lebanon and the Arab country.

He told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Saturday: “It is the duty of every patriarch to visit the parishes every five years and I will do that immediately.”

Damascus’s visitors reported that high-ranking Syrian officials are questioning the delay in the formation of the Lebanese government “seeing as there are no reasons that should cause a delay,” reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat Saturday.

“The officials stressed that the Syrian leadership is not concerned with the details of the government and it does not intervene in the formation, but it urges all its allies to present mutual concessions to facilitate the formation,” they told the daily.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat did not deny on Friday the recent WikiLeaks report that quoted him as saying he hoped Israel would continue its assault on Lebanon during the July 2006 war in order to weaken Hizbullah militarily.

The MP said: “I take full responsibility for these statements that are a dark mark in my political career and I hope my position today would eliminate any harm I may have caused the Resistance, Syria, and the noble resistance fighters.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has denied that any foreign meddling was delaying the cabinet formation process saying the obstacles were purely local.

In remarks to As Safir daily published Friday, Berri refused to set a date for the formation of the government saying that the actual process began after the March 14 alliance’s rally at the Martyrs Square last Sunday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has urged all Lebanese political parties to use a calmer political rhetoric to prevent any clashes between foes.

He addressed caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri in remarks to As Safir daily on Friday, asking him if he sees any solution to the issue of Hizbullah’s arms except for “calm and rational dialogue.”