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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Turkey Slams Lebanon for Not Condemning Syria Crackdown
2012-02-06
[An Nahar] Turkey on Sunday criticized the Lebanese government, saying it has not voiced "a single word" to condemn the Syrian regime's deadly crackdown on dissent.

"Has Leb voiced a single word to express its solidarity with our Mohammedan brothers who are being slaughtered? No, only Turkey has raised its voice," Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.

He also slammed Iran, Syria's key regional ally, over its silence concerning the lethal repression.

Arinc was speaking at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) party in Bursa, in Turkey's northwest.

Leb's government, which is led by Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hizbullah and its allies, has sidestepped taking a firm stand on the Syria crisis in what observers say is a bid to avoid potential sanctions or a spillover of the violence.

The United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since March as al-Assad's regime cracks down on a popular revolt.

Thousands of Syrian refugees have decamped to Leb but many say they do not feel safe in the neighboring country.

Syria controlled Leb from 1976-2005 and the two countries have yet to agree on an official demarcation of the 330-kilometer common border.

Despite the departure of Syrian troops from Leb under international and popular pressure in 2005, Damascus
...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations...
maintains a strong influence in Leb.

Turkey, once a close ally of neighboring Syria, has been at the forefront of international criticism against the Damascus regime and has also become a haven for many Syrian opposition activists.
Posted by:Fred

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