Mikati to visit Syria on Saturday
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will on Saturday make his first official trip to neighboring Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, his office told AFP.
Mikati's office said Friday the trip came at the invitation of the country's new de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa during a phone call last week.
Syria imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens last week, two security sources have told AFP, following what the Lebanese Army said was a border skirmish with unnamed armed Syrians.
Lebanese nationals had previously been allowed into Syria without a visa, using just their passport or ID card.
Lebanon's eastern border is porous and known for smuggling.
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah supported Assad with fighters during Syria's civil war.
But the group has been weakened after a war with Israel killed its long-time leader and Islamist-led rebels seized Damascus last month.
Lebanese lawmakers elected the country's army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday, ending a vacancy of more than two years that critics blamed on Hezbollah.
For three decades under the Assad clan, Syria was the dominant power in Lebanon after intervening in its 1975-1990 civil war.
Syria eventually withdrew its troops in 2005 under international pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Source: Agence France Presse
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