Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman warned Saturday of the consequences of the "continuous assaults against the army, its officers and soldiers deployed in the tensed areas."

In a statement issued by the presidential media office, Suleiman stressed that "the army is carrying out its role in protecting the nation and the Lebanese" and he called on the military to strike with an iron fist.

He said "instructions were given to target any member who carries out an assault against the army," adding "we should express our solidarity with the army and support it in its national missions inside the country and across the border."

Suleiman pointed out that attacking the army is "an attack at a national symbol."

During the clashes in the northern port city of Tripoli between the rival neighborhoods Sunni Bab el-Tebbaneh and Alawite Jabal Mohsen, army posts and patrols were targeted which led to the death of one soldier and the injury of 26 others.