Connelly Meets Miqati, Urges All Parties to Avoid Actions that May Lead to Spillover of Syria Unrest

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly conveyed on Tuesday U.S. condolences for the recent deaths and injuries of Lebanese nationals from attacks originating from inside Syria that have struck Lebanese villages.

She reiterated after holding talks with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati “the U.S. call on all parties in the region to avoid any actions that would exacerbate the crisis in Syria, increase the propensity for spillover violence, and negatively impact civilian populations.”

The two officials discussed bilateral relations as well as the political and security situation in Lebanon and regional events.

Connelly expressed U.S. support for the extraordinary efforts exerted by Lebanese leaders to adhere to Lebanon’s legal and constitutional framework to hold timely parliamentary elections.

She also conveyed the United States’ appreciation for Miqati’s ongoing efforts to preserve Lebanon’s stability and to fulfill Lebanon’s international obligations.

The ambassador renewed the commitment of the United States to a stable, sovereign, and independent Lebanon.

For his part, Miqati condemned Monday's bombings in the U.S. city of Boston that killed at least three people and injured more than 140.

Two bombs exploded in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon raising alarms that terrorists might have struck again in the U.S.

Miqati requested that Connelly relay his condolences to U.S. President Barack Obama.

On Monday, the U.S. State Department condemned the firing of rockets by Syrian rebels into the Lebanese region of Hermel, which left two people dead and five others wounded on Sunday.

It said it condemns attacks against Lebanese territory, whichever side they may come from.

Two more rockets fired from Syria landed on a border town in the Bekaa valley on Monday, prompting President Michel Suleiman to call for a security meeting which sought Arab League assistance in helping Lebanon confront the attacks.

The deaths are not the first time that Lebanese citizens have been killed by cross-border fire coming from Syria. In February, at least one Lebanese man was killed by gunfire from the Syrian side of the border.

Since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, there have been numerous deadly clashes along the northern and eastern borders of Lebanon, usually between the Syrian army and armed Syrian or Lebanese groups backing the uprising.