Lebanon complains as Syrian shelling of northern towns

Prime Minister Najib Mikati instructed Lebanon’s ambassador to Damascus to lodge an urgent protest with the Syrian government Monday over ongoing Syrian shelling of north Lebanese towns. Mikati’s directive came during a meeting Monday morning with Lebanese Ambassador to Syria Michel Khoury, the state-run National News Agency said. It said Mikati urged Khoury to “urgently send a letter to the Syrian foreign ministry, informing it that Lebanese towns and villages near the Lebanon-Syria border continue to be exposed to shelling from adjacent Syrian military positions.” Mikati also instructed Khoury to underline the “negative repercussions of such violations on security measures taken by the Lebanese Army to maintain calm and stability on the border between the two countries, in line with a decision by the government which is keen to protect Lebanese residents near the Syria-Lebanon border and spare any loss of life and property.” Intense shelling of north Lebanon border villages continued over the weekend even after President Michel Sleiman received assurances from Syrian officials that those responsible would be held accountable. The shelling, which came in two stages – between 9 and 11 p.m. Saturday, and between 2 and 5 a.m. Sunday – targeted the border villages of Debabiyeh and Nura, which lie along the Nahr al-Kabir river in Akkar, north Lebanon. There were no reports of casualties. According to a statement from his office Saturday, Sleiman was briefed by Lebanese Army Gen. Jean Kahwagi on the circumstances surrounding Syrian shelling Friday that wounded one Lebanese soldier. Since the uprising began in Syria against President Bashar Assad’s rule, the Syrian army has on several occasions crossed into Lebanon and raided houses near the poorly demarcated border, which is estimated to be around 550 kilometers long. Lebanese border towns have also witnessed shelling from the Syrian side, damaging houses and at times killing residents. Syria has claimed that it is the victim of violence and crime emanating from Lebanon, and has repeatedly asked Lebanon to better control the border, citing arms smuggling and gunmen entering its land via Lebanon. Earlier this year, Sleiman instructed Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour to deliver a letter of protest to Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali over Syria’s repeated violations of the Lebanese border. From DailyStar