“What happened at the ministry [Thursday] was a remarkable crime and a coup,” Aoun told a news conference after an extraordinary meeting of his Change and Reform parliamentary bloc.

He also said the incident was “very dangerous and threatens the fate of a democratic society as a whole.”

Aoun described the actions by policemen from the Information Branch, which operates under Rifi, as “militia work.”

The FPM leader called on President Michel Sleiman, in his capacity as the overall commander of the armed forces, to, clip Rifi’s wings, order the withdrawal of the Information Branch members from the telecoms ministry.and refer Rifi to judicial authorities

The dispute broke out Thursday morning when Nahhas, accompanied by a number of ministry technicians, attempted to access a facility affiliated with the Telecommunications Ministry in Beirut’s Adliyeh neighborhood to dismantle what he described as a third illegitimate GSM network operating on the building’s second floor.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri Thursday accused Nahhas of illegal use of what he termed as a third telecoms network and gave judicial authorities a green light to handle Nahhas’ case to determine the reasons as to why Nahhas overstepped Cabinet decisions and to identify to whom Nahhas planned to hand over state-owned communication equipment.

Following Thursday’s incident, in which Nahhas was seen scuffling with policemen from the information branch of the Internal Security Forces, caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud announced he was giving up his ministerial responsibilities after being unable to enforce the law, as rival political camps battle over the legitimacy and prerogatives of the information branch.

Rifi had ignored orders from Baroud to pull out the Information Branch which had been dispatched with instructions to seal off the rooms on the second floor of the ministry building.

Meanwhile, supporters of the outgoing interior minister put out calls via Facebook for a gathering outside Baroud’s residence in east Beirut later Friday in a show of solidarity.

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai Friday criticized Thursday’s incident, saying a nation cannot build its future on mini-states.

“A state cannot rise in the presence of mini-states,” Rai told a visiting delegation Friday, adding that he will pray for every politician to shoulder his responsibilities “nobly.”

MPs from outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Future Movement Friday accused Nahhas of staging a “coup,” saying the event had been orchestrated beforehand by the telecoms minister.

“Minister Charbel Nahhas attempted a coup yesterday against the executive power,” MP Ammar Houri said, stressing that no Cabinet minister has the right to overstep government authority.

“Nahhas had intended beforehand to do this work,” Houri said, adding that the presence of a camera from Aoun’s OTV during the scuffle proved it had been preplanned.

Houri said the communications equipment donated by China had been put under Ogero’s control in line with a 2007 Cabinet decision.

MP Samir Jisr, also a Future MP, condemned Thursday’s incident, emphasizing the need to take the issue back to the origin of the dispute.

“Yesterday’s event was no coincidence,” Jisr said, pointing out that funds allotted for Ogero have still not made their way to Lebanon’s leading telecoms provider.

Meanwhile, MP Nabil Nicola of Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc called on President Michel Sleiman to order the withdrawal of the police unit from the telecoms ministry.

“It is unacceptable to hurt the dignity of ministers the way police commander Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi is doing,” Nicola said.