Siniora hands Sleiman petition on Syria violations

Future Movement MP Fouad Siniora arrived at the Presidential Palace Tuesday to deliver a petition signed by the March 14 coalition regarding Syrian violations of Lebanon's sovereignty. The memo, to be handed to President Michel Sleiman, is expected to call for the deployment of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon on the northern border with Syria, which is estimated to be around 550 kilometers long. UNIFIL has been in south Lebanon since 1978 and was expanded after the 2006 war so peacekeepers could deploy along the border with Israel to help Lebanese troops extend their authority into the south for the first time in decades. The call by opposition groups comes in response to repeated Syrian shelling of Lebanese border towns which at times has resulted in loss of innocent lives and material damage. From DailyStar