Prime Minister Najib Miqati condemned on Friday an attack on a UNIFIL patrol in the southern coastal city of Tyre, saying such bombings would not affect the mission of the peacekeepers.

“These crimes don’t only target the international (peacekeeping) forces but also the security and stability of all Lebanon and the south,” Miqati said as he headed a meeting of top security officials at the Grand Serail.

Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi was chosen as “Man of the Year 2011″ in a ceremony held in Dubai on Tuesday.

Rifi was awarded a Gold Medal in the field of security leadership excellence at the event organized by the Arab Organization for Administrative Development of the Arab League and the Academy of Excellence and Quality.

President Michel Suleiman held separate talks on Wednesday with a number of security officials, urging them to intensify their efforts in maintaining Lebanon’s security given the current situation in the country, reported the daily An Nahar Thursday.

He held talks with General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim, Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi, Military Intelligence Director Edmond Fadel, and General Director of State Security George Qaraa.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat condemned on Wednesday the kidnapping of Syrian opposition members in Lebanon, wondering if Lebanon is facing a new phase of the “infamous” security hegemony that controlled the country in the past.

He said in a statement: “All Syrian activists have the right to express their opinions freely without being subject to any harassment or pressure from any side.”

The Syrian opposition has urged authorities in Lebanon to act over reports that more than a dozen of their members have been kidnapped.

"The executive board of the Syrian National Council has expressed its concern in a letter sent to Prime Minister Najib Miqati in light of reports by rights groups that 13 Syrian nationals have been kidnapped," the opposition group said in a statement late on Tuesday in Beirut.

The parliamentary defense committee on Monday held calm talks on the abduction of Middle East Airlines engineer Joseph Sader in 2009 but opposition MPs hinted that Interior Minister Marwan Charbel didn’t provide the conferees with enough information on the issue.

Unlike the meetings of the human rights committee that discussed several kidnappings, including the disappearance of Syrian opposition figures in Lebanon, Monday’s deliberations were calm.

President Michel Suleiman approved on Friday promotions of Internal Security Forces officers ranked up to colonel, in a measure that was approved by ISF chief Ashraf Rifi and Premier Najib Miqati.

Official sources told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Saturday that the development has not settled the dispute over the promotion of ISF Intelligence Bureau chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, noting that a procedure could be adopted that would allow his promotion to be effective in 2012.

Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali urged Lebanese security agencies on Thursday to reconsider their investigations into the smuggling of weapons from Lebanon to Syria.

“The amount of smuggled arms to Syria and the amount unveiled by the Lebanese investigation calls for a review by the Lebanese security agencies,” Ali told Hizbullah’s al-Manar TV station.

Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi has told National Struggle Front MP Akram Shehayyeb that the probe into the disappearance of Syrian opposition activist Shebli al-Aisamy was ongoing, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.

Shehayyeb visited Rifi on Tuesday, a day after heated arguments between March 8 and 14 lawmakers during the meeting of the parliamentary human rights committee that discussed the ISF chief’s report on the kidnapping of Syrian opposition members in Lebanon.

Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal MPs wrangled on Monday at the human rights parliamentary committee meeting which witnessed curses, threats and counter accusations.

The committee was scheduled to discuss a report by Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi on the alleged involvement of the Syrian embassy in the disappearance of Syrian opposition activists in Lebanon.