Mikati to visit Syria on Saturday

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will on Saturday make his first official trip to neighboring Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, his office told AFP.

Mikati's office said Friday the trip came at the invitation of the country's new de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa during a phone call last week.

Syria imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens last week, two security sources have told AFP, following what the Lebanese Army said was a border skirmish with unnamed armed Syrians.

Lebanese nationals had previously been allowed into Syria without a visa, using just their passport or ID card.

Lebanon's eastern border is porous and known for smuggling.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah supported Assad with fighters during Syria's civil war.

But the group has been weakened after a war with Israel killed its long-time leader and Islamist-led rebels seized Damascus last month.

Lebanese lawmakers elected the country's army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday, ending a vacancy of more than two years that critics blamed on Hezbollah.

For three decades under the Assad clan, Syria was the dominant power in Lebanon after intervening in its 1975-1990 civil war.

Syria eventually withdrew its troops in 2005 under international pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafik Hariri.