U.N. Secretary-General 'Concerned' over Situation along Border with Syria
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, expressed grave concern over the activities of al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the mountainous areas surrounding the northeastern border town of Arsal.
The U.N. official warned of the tremendous impact of such acts on Lebanon's stability and security, in particular, Hizbullah's and other Lebanese groups involvement in the battles ongoing in the neighboring country Syria.
Ban also lauded the efforts exerted by the Lebanese army to combat terrorist threats.
Lebanon's border with Syria is not officially defined and much of it is porous and unpatrolled, with local residents, smugglers and others moving freely across it.
Hizbullah maintains several military posts along inaccessible parts of the border, and it rarely gives official details on clashes with jihadists or other fighters.
Eight fighters from Hizbullah were killed in clashes with jihadists in mountains around the town of Nabi Sbat, east of Baalbek on the border with Syria.
The clashes come two months after jihadists from the Islamic State group and al-Nusra attacked Lebanese security forces in Arsal.
Hizbullah has dispatched fighters to bolster President Bashar Assad's troops against an uprising that many of Lebanon's Sunnis support.
The conflict has exacerbated existing tensions in Lebanon, and made Hizbullah and its strongholds of support a target for extremists who have detonated bombs in several areas.
The Secretary-General expressed “disappointment” over the Lebanese parties' failure to elect a new president within the constitutional deadlines, warning that the ongoing vacuum “increases the fragility” of the situation in the country.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May.
Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the elections.
H.K.
G.K.
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