TYRE, Lebanon - Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri called Thursday for MPs to hold a sit-in in parliament starting on Saturday until Israel lifts its seven-week-old air and sea blockade of the country.

"From Saturday, I invite the 128 deputies from all sides, and myself, to take part in an open-ended sit-in at the parliament building (in Beirut) until the lifting of the blockade, however long that takes," Berri said.

He launched the call before a crowd of more than 100,000 people in the southern port town of Tyre gathered to mark the 28th anniversary of the disappearance of Mussa Sadr, the founder of Berri's Shiite movement Amal.

UN chief Kofi Annan urged Israel on Wednesday to end its crippling blockade of war-devastated Lebanon that has been in force since July 13 as the Jewish state launched a 34-day assault sparked by the capture of two of its soldiers.

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