EU to Address Hizbullah Fighting Syria during Foreign Ministers Meeting Monday

Lebanon is set to be the focus of discussions at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers on Monday, announced the French Foreign Ministry on Friday.

Western sources told An Nahar daily reported Saturday that the meeting, held in Brussels, stems from fears over Hizbullah's fighting in Syria.

Hizbullah's involvement in the unrest, at Iran's behest, will “inevitably” have repercussions on the internal Lebanese scene, especially in light of Syrian shelling of Lebanese territories in recent weeks, they added.

Meanwhile, EU Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst told al-Joumhouria daily Saturday that getting involved in fighting in regional countries violates the Lebanese government's policy of disassociation.

Hizbullah must be aware of this and realize the consequences of its actions, she stressed.

The EU will continue on supporting Lebanon, but its government should prevent fighters from heading to Syria, she demanded.

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

Rebel commanders confirmed insurgents had fired shells into the Bekaa valley's Hermel towns on Saturday and Sunday in retaliation to Hizbullah shelling of Syrian territories.

The party has systematically denied sending fighters into Syria, although its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged in October 2012 that party members had fought Syrian rebels but said they were acting as individuals and not under the group's direction.

Meanwhile, residents of the Bekaa valley told AFP on Monday that the bodies of five Hizbullah fighters killed in Syria were brought back on Sunday and Monday for burial.

A security source in southern Lebanon meanwhile told AFP on condition of anonymity that four other fighters from the region had also been killed in Syria.