Related News
Lebanese forces fire on Syrian helicopters in their airspace
Print Edition
Lebanese forces fired on Syrian aircraft that violated the country’s airspace yesterday, the first time they have done so since Syria’s uprising broke out three years ago, said Lebanese security officials.
The move suggests Beirut is trying to enforce greater respect for its borders in the hopes of slowing the expansion of the conflict into Lebanon, where it has exacerbated sectarian tensions and prompted shadowy groups to conduct attacks that have killed dozens this year.
Also yesterday, a UN official said at least 15 people have died of hunger-related illnesses in a besieged area of Damascus in the past four months.
Lebanese officials said the military fired anti-aircraft guns at two Syrian helicopters after they fired four projectiles in a mountainous area close to the Lebanese town of Arsal.
Syrian aircraft have frequently conducted strikes near the frontier and sometimes fire has hit Lebanon. Beirut has protested but not shot at them.
A Lebanese military official could not confirm the report, but said the army has orders to shoot anything — planes, tanks or troops — that violated Lebanese territory.
There was no comment from the Syrian government.
Other officials said the Syrians were chasing rebels who were trying to sneak into the country. Lebanon’s border towns dominated by Sunni Muslims have become safe shelters for rebels battling the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Syria’s three-year conflict has become increasingly sectarian as it wears on. The rebels are largely from the Sunni majority. Religious minorities, including Shiites, support Assad or have remained neutral, fearing for their fate if Muslim hardliners come to power.
Those loyalties are reflected in Lebanon where Sunnis generally support the rebels, and Shiites support Assad. The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah has sent its fighters to Syria to shore up Assad’s forces, adding to the tensions.
Meanwhile in Damascus, the new deaths from hunger-related illness highlighted the Assad government’s tactic of starving out rebel-held areas.
Rebels seized the Palestinian-dominated Yarmouk district last year, part of a swath of neighborhoods around Damascus now held by opposition fighters.
The UN’s Relief and Works Agency that supports Palestinian refugees had until recently shipped food into the area, but has not been able to do so since September, said the organization’s Chris Gunness. He said at least five people died over the weekend, but 10 people had died in the months before. The dead include men, women and children.
Gunness estimated 2,000 civilians still lived there, where clashes between rebels and Assad loyalists are frequent.
“If this situation is not addressed urgently, it may be too late to save the lives of thousands of people including children,” warned Gunness.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
