Syria Army Says 'Respects Lebanon Sovereignty'
Hours after a helicopter gunship fired missiles at a majority Sunni town in eastern Lebanon Wednesday, Syria's army command said it respects its neighbor's sovereignty and territorial integrity, state news agency SANA said.
The army said it will continue to target rebels across Syrian territory, but that it is "committed to respecting the sovereignty of the Lebanese republic, its territorial integrity and the safety of its people".
Using the term "terrorist" to refer to rebels fighting President Bashar Assad's regime, the army command said the strike came after "one of the air force's helicopters spotted an armed terrorist group as its members tried to flee towards Lebanese territory".
The helicopter "managed to hit some (of the group's members), while others succeeded in reaching Arsal, so they were targeted with more fire", the army said.
The statement comes hours after Lebanon's army warned it will hit back against any new attacks from Syria.
The two rockets fired Wednesday on Arsal, a majority Sunni Muslim town, injured one person.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called the attack "a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty" and said the country has the right to take steps to defend itself and to "submit a complaint" to the U.N. and the Arab League.
The attack on central Arsal, whose residents support the anti-Assad revolt in neighboring Syria, was the first such strike in the nearly 27-month conflict.
Arsal is sensitive because it is just 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the border with Syria.
Experts say it has been used as a conduit for weapons and rebels to enter Syria, while it has also served as a refuge for people fleeing the conflict into Lebanon.
Dozens of people wounded in fighting in the key town of Qusayr -- most of them rebels -- flocked to Arsal for treatment last week as the Syrian army and Hizbullah overran the former insurgent bastion.
Source: Agence France Presse
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