Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has criticized remarks by Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem as he urged the group to hand over its arms and declare its "ultimate loyalty to Lebanon".

"There can be no civil war," al-Rahi told Saudi state-owned news channel al-Arabiya Tuesday, after Qassem said last week that Hezbollah disarmament could lead to "civil war" and vowed to fight to keep the group's arsenal.