Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement staged a new motorized protest Thursday in the Northern Metn region, as FPM members distributed leaflets in Jbeil and Batroun to explain demands and mobilize the public opinion.

FPM supporters gathered outside the movement's Northern Metn headquarters in Nahr el-Mot before taking off in convoys that roamed the Amaret Chalhoub, Zalka, Jal el-Dib, Antelias and Dbaye areas, state-run National News Agency reported.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called on politicians Saturday to descend from their thrones and engage in settlements to end the presidential crisis as they are failing a community, a history and a nation.

“Lebanon is passing through delicate circumstances and undergoing decay amid the lingering presidential vacuum,” al-Rahi said during a tour in the northern region of Batroun.

One person was killed and another wounded on Monday in a landmine explosion in al-Batroun.

The blast took place during excavations operations in the al-Barbara area in al-Batroun.

Gunmen abducted on Thursday night a Lebanese businessman in the northern region of Batroun, demanding a ransom in return for his release, reported LBCI television on Saturday.

It said that Bassam Tleh Tarbey, 50, was kidnapped in exchange for $4million.

President Michel Suleiman hailed on Saturday the interception of a ship suspected of delivering weapons to Syria as the Lebanese army issued a statement confirming the incident.

“The army intercepted on Friday Sierra Leone-flagged Lutfallah II ship suspected of carrying weapons and ammunition to Syria,” the statement said.