Syrian Ambassador Urges Lebanon to Take ‘Strict Measures’ Against Arms Smuggling
Syria's envoy to Beirut has urged the Lebanese government to prevent cross-border arms smuggling, saying the alleged trafficking was "complementary to terrorism.”
In an interview with the Hizbullah-run website al-Intiqad, Ali Abdul Karim Ali called on Lebanon to take "serious, strict measures to end arms smuggling from Lebanon into Syria and... not give in to international pressure."
His comments were made the same day the Higher Defense Council stressed during a meeting at Baabda palace the prevention of arms smuggling and said it asked security agencies to take stronger measures to fight terrorism.
Ali, the first Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, linked the issue of suspected arms smuggling to claims that al-Qaida was operating along the Lebanese-Syrian border, made earlier this month by Lebanon's Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn.
"Ghosn's exposure of al-Qaida members who are infiltrating Syria via the Lebanese border village of Arsal is an issue that must be dealt responsibly and seriously," Ali was quoted as saying.
"Arms smuggling and terrorism are complementary, and measures to put an end to this matter must be clear and decisive."
Syrian President Bashar Assad blames the violence in his country on "armed terrorist" groups.
The Lebanese government has said it is investigating Ghosn's claims that a terrorist group was smuggling weapons into Syria through Arsal, which borders the Syrian protest hub of Homs.
The March 14-led opposition has meanwhile slammed Ghosn as a "minister for the defense of the Assad regime" over his statements.
Arsal, considered a stronghold of opposition leader and ex-Premier Saad Hariri, has in recent months witnessed a string of deadly incursions by the Syrian army in a bid to crack down on arms smuggling.
Wounded Syrian protesters have crossed the border into Arsal to seek medical care in Lebanon as violence escalates in Homs.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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