National Coalition: Lebanon Must Stop Hizbullah Attacks in Syria

Syria's main opposition National Coalition called on Lebanon to control its frontiers, after rebels said they fired across the border in retaliation against Hizbullah.

"The Syrian Coalition calls on the Lebanese government to exert control over its borders and put an immediate stop to Hizbullah's military operations on Syrian territory," the group said late Monday.

"We call upon the Lebanese government to take action against Hizbullah's aggressions and do everything within their means to ensure the safety of the innocent civilians on the Syrian-Lebanese border," it said in a statement.

"For weeks now, forces belonging to Hizbullah have targeted villages inside Syria, located on the border of Syria and Lebanon. Hizbullah deployed forces into some border villages and took control of those areas.

"The (rebel) Free Syrian Army was forced to respond to these repeated aggressions," it said.

The umbrella opposition group also called on rebel forces in Syria to "exercise restraint" and to respect Lebanon's sovereignty.

The statement comes after Lebanon said it would submit to the Arab League a letter of protest condemning the spillover of fire from Syria onto its territory.

The Coalition is recognized by dozens of states and organizations -- among them the Arab League -- as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

Beirut has adopted a policy of "disassociation" in the conflict in neighboring Syria, and has been reluctant to publicly blame either rebel or regime forces.

The rebels claimed to have fired shells on Lebanon at the weekend, blaming Hizbullah for firing from Lebanon and positions inside Syria on rebel-held areas in the strife-torn Qusayr area, near the border.

A rebel commander told Agence France Presse on Monday they were "giving the Lebanese authorities an opportunity to respond, to take practical steps to put a stop to (Hizbullah's) shelling", while threatening to launch new attacks should the group continue to target rebels in Syria.