Syria Complains to Lebanon over ‘Lebanese Violations of its Border’
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali handed on Wednesday the Lebanese Foreign Ministry a letter of complaint over “Lebanese violations of the Syrian border,” reported LBCI television.
He told the station: “This is not the first time that the Lebanese authorities were handed similar complaints.”
“Others had been sent in the past,” he added.
He explained that Lebanon is being informed of “violations of the border that are being committed by gunmen.”
The ambassador said that the violations “require a Syrian response.”
Syria also demanded that Lebanon bolster border controls to prevent violations such as shooting into Syria, arms smuggling and infiltrations.
The Syrian complaint came shortly after Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour delivered a similar message to Syria over its violations of Lebanese territory.
He sent a memorandum to Ali, demanding his country to avoid the recurrence of any border incidents.
But the foreign minister’s memorandum fell short of President Michel Suleiman’s demand of a protest letter on repeated incursions to Lebanon.
Ahead of his move, Mansour shrugged off demands to summon Ali or expel him, saying “summoning does not take place among brethren.”
Syrian troops had repeatedly carried out incursions into Lebanon, saying that they are chasing army defectors and members of armed gangs.
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