"It is religiously prohibited to engage in fighting with fellow Lebanese in general and Muslims in particular and to attack private and public property," said a statement issued yesterday by the Sunni body."

The Edict, or religious Fatwa, echoed similar demands by Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who has been, over the past weeks of protests demanding the government resignation, calling on people to renounce violence and avoid sectarian clashes.

The edict, which came after mounting fears that the country could slide into bloody civil war, similar to the multi-sided Lebanese Civil War that took place during the period between 1975 and 1990, also urged the opposition to end its sit-in in downtown Beirut and "return to the constitutional institutions to assume political duties."

The peaceful demonstrations and sit-ins, organised by Hezbollah movement, backed by Syria and Iran along with several other parties, began on December 1 and quickly escalated