Lebanon's Shi'ite Amal movement said on Monday last week's street violence in Beirut in which seven Shi'ite Muslims were shot dead aimed to reignite internal strife and threaten peace.
The seven were killed on Thursday as crowds headed for a demonstration called by Amal and its Iranian-backed ally Hezbollah group in bloodshed that stirred memories of the 1975-1990 civil war.
"What happened showed the Lebanese people the truth behind what these groups are doing in terms of trying to ignite internal strife and national division and threaten civic peace and pushing the Lebanese back to the era of civil wars," Amal said in a statement.
The incident marked the worst street violence in over a decade and added to fears for the stability of a country that is awash with weapons and suffering an economic meltdown.