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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| One dead as Syrian bus attacked in Lebanon |
| 2009-12-22 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Shots were fired at a bus carrying Syrian workers in northern Lebanon on Monday, killing one of them, security sources said, shortly after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri patched up his relations with Damascus. The bus was travelling near an army checkpoint along the main highway between Syria and northern Lebanon when the incident took place. Thousands of Syrian laborers work in Lebanon, mainly in construction. Syria denounced the attack while a member of Hariri's bloc said it was aimed at disrupting policies of the Lebanese prime minister, who completed on Sunday a two-day visit to Damascus for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. These marked an end to nearly five years of animosity between Damascus and a broad political alliance led by Hariri. "What happened is not just a simple incident ... I think somebody is trying to create strife and disturb Hariri's political direction," Ahmed Fatfat, a member of parliament from Hariri's bloc, told Lebanese TV channel LBC. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem described the shooting as a "criminal act". In a telephone call to his Lebanese counterpart, he asked to be informed "as soon as possible" on the results of investigations into the attack, Syria's state news agency (SANA) reported. Beirut's ties with Damascus hit rock bottom after Hariri's alliance accused Syria of assassinating Saad's father, Rafiq al-Hariri, in Feb. 2005. They also blamed Damascus for attacking and killing other politicians and journalists. Syria denies the allegations. A special court has yet to indict anyone for the killing. Outrage in Lebanon over the assassination and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April 2005, ending three decades of military presence in its smaller neighbor. Saad al-Hariri's coalition has often clashed in the past with Syria's allies in Lebanon, led by the powerful Iranian-backed group Hezbollah. The two neighbors established diplomatic ties for the first time last year, with Syria opening an embassy in Beirut, while Lebanon opened its mission in Damascus in March. The U.S.- and Western-backed Hariri said at the weekend that his unity government, which includes members of the Syria- and Iran-backed Hezbollah coalition, wanted to take measures with Damascus to develop these ties. "We want privileged, sincere and honest relations ... in the interest of both countries and both peoples," the 39-year-old premier told a news conference in Damascus at the end of the visit. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 The Hizbies will provide a pretext on demand. |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-12-22 14:10 |
| #1 Tsk, tsk, tsk. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-12-22 06:08 |