Syrian warplanes fly low over north Lebanon

Syrian warplanes and helicopters flew Thursday morning over the northern region of Wadi Khaled at a low altitude, security sources told The Daily Star. The warplanes have been hovering over the border villages of Mqaybleh, Heesheh and Mashta Hasan since 6 a.m., the sources added. Residents of the border region spoke Thursday of heavy shelling overnight directed at the Syrian town of Tal Kalakh, which is located 5 kilometers from Wadi Khaled. Syria has claimed that rebels fighting against the government have infiltrated Lebanese border towns and has asked Lebanon to better control the border to prevent the smuggling of arms and gunmen. North Lebanon border villages have come under shelling form Syria on several occasions, at times resulting in the death of innocent civilians and material damage. Following last week's attacks on border villages that wounded one Lebanese soldier, Prime Minister Najib Mikati instructed Lebanon’s Ambassador to Syria Michel Khoury to send a letter of complaint to Syria’s Foreign Ministry about “the continuous shelling of Lebanese border towns from nearby Syrian military bases.” The March 14 coalition has called for the deployment of U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon along the border with Syria, which is estimated to be around 550 kilometers long, to put an end to Syria's violations.   From DailyStar