Head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, former premier Fouad Saniora, warned Monday that “those who disavow the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would be exposing Lebanon to danger.”

In an interview on MTV, Saniora said “financing is one of the aspects of dealing with the tribunal, but respecting the protocol signed between the Lebanese state and the STL is what’s important.”

The Phalange Party hoped on Monday that Lebanon’s Independence Day on Tuesday would be an occasion for all sides to become aware of the meaning of independence for which thousands of Lebanese martyrs have died for.

It hoped in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting that the “Lebanese government would assume its responsibilities for Lebanon and the region during these critical moments.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat voiced on Monday his support of the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, adding that the party understands Hizbullah’s insecurities over the matter.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “Keeping in mind its reservations, Hizbullah should cooperate positively with the issue of the funding in order to ease the tensions on the internal Lebanese scene.”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Syrian President Bashar Assad Monday that his days as leader were numbered and he cannot remain in power indefinitely through military force.

After reports that two buses carrying Turkish pilgrims came under attack in Syria, Erdogan said his one-time ally's defiant refusal to end a bloody crackdown on protesters had increased the prospects of foreign intervention.

Russia on Monday accused the West of provocative behavior in the Syrian crisis, saying Western countries were telling the opposition to forget dialogue with President Bashar Assad.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the West's behavior in this respect was "similar to a political provocation at an international level", news agencies reported.

Two buses carrying Turkish pilgrims came under fire in neighboring Syria early Monday as they were travelling back from the hajj in Saudi Arabia, leaving two people injured, reports said.

The "armed attack" occurred between the flashpoint cities of Hama and Homs, Turkey's semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

At least 12 Syrians were shot dead Monday in raids by security forces in the central provinces of Homs and Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The state news agency SANA said four "terrorists" were killed, including a suspect high on a wanted list, while also reporting that two judges were kidnapped in Hama.

Italy's new foreign minister Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata and his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle called for an end to violence in Syria and Egypt after talks on key European issues in Rome Sunday.

"The two ministers expressed deep concern for the escalation of violence in Syria" and reiterated their support for an Arab League roadmap for peace in the country, they said in a joint statement.

Syrian anti-regime protesters and their Egyptian supporters clashed with backers of President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

The anti-Assad protesters, who had set up camp outside the Arab League, said about 150 Assad loyalists carrying a poster of the embattled president tried to attack their tent but they drove them off with the help of Egyptian protesters.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said there was "no place for authoritarian regimes" in the Mediterranean region, heaping more pressure on the embattled Syrian regime, in comments published Sunday.

"I strongly believe that there is no place any more for authoritarian regimes -- single party systems that do not have accountability or transparency -- on the shores of the Mediterranean," he told Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper.