BEIRUT: Former Lebanese premier Saad Hariri said Saturday the country’s Sunni Muslims “refuse” to be a part of any conflict between Al-Qaeda and Shiite movement Hezbollah, denouncing sectarian attacks on civilians anywhere in Lebanon.

The war in neighboring Syria has inflamed sectarian tensions in Lebanon, with Hezbollah backing President Bashar Assad and many Sunnis supporting the rebellion against him.

Hariri’s statement came a day after a jihadist group warned all areas where Hezbollah operates are “legitimate targets” for attack, telling Sunnis to avoid them.

“The Lebanese, and the Sunnis among them, refuse to be part of any war in Lebanon or the region between Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda,” said Hariri, who heads the anti-Syrian Future bloc.

“They also refuse that the civilians in any region of Lebanon become the targets,” he added.

On Friday, Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon, a group suspected of links to Al-Qaeda, described Hezbollah’s “bases and bastions” as “legitimate targets” for attack.

The group had also claimed a car bomb attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday that killed four.

It was the sixth in a string of attacks targeting areas dominated by Hezbollah since the Shiite group acknowledged sending fighters into Syria to support Assad’s forces.