His remarks in a television interview late on Tuesday ignited demonstrations overnight in which a protester was shot and killed after an altercation with Lebanese soldiers at a roadblock south of Beirut.

The killing marked a bloody twist to the crisis that has gripped Lebanon for nearly a month, escalating tensions in a country ensnared in a deep political and economic crisis.

The man was a follower of Walid Jumblatt, a veteran Druze politician and former civil war militia leader, who has urged his supporters to remain calm.

Schools and banks were closed on Wednesday for a second straight day. They have been shut for much of the four weeks since the start of the protests against political leaders seen as venal and unable to rescue Lebanon from rising poverty and unemployment.

Several dozen protesters watched by troops and police sat blocking the usually busy road. Nearby lay smouldering debris ignited during protests overnight triggered by Aoun's remarks.

"Aoun ignites the intifada (uprising)," ran the front page headline in the daily Ennahar newspaper.

In his interview, Aoun indicated there was no breakthrough in talks over forming a new government to replace Saad al-Hariri's coalition cabinet. Hariri, who quit on October 29, was hesitant about being prime minister again, he said.

Aoun also said a purely technocratic government, as demanded by many protesters, would not be able to govern Lebanon and so it should include politicians.

Addressing protesters in his interview, he said, "If you continue in this way, you will strike Lebanon and your interests ... If they keep going, there is a catastrophe. If they stop, there is still room for (us) to fix things."

Australian Associated Press