Hariri accuses Syria of terrorizing Lebanon
BEIRUT (Agencies)
Lebanon's majority leader Saad al-Hariri said no one should deal with his country as if it were not a viable state, in reaction to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad's comments on the lack of security in northern Lebanon.
"What we have heard in the last couple of days is an attempt (by the Syrian regime) to return to Lebanon through Tripoli. We draw the attention of the Lebanese and the Arab League to the plot to put Lebanon back under the thumb of the Syrian regime," Hariri told a Ramadan Iftar banquet on Friday.
He further accused Damascus of "exporting terrorism to Lebanon".
"Lebanon is facing great challenges. We heard someone saying Lebanon's problem would not be solved unless extremism is tackled. We say that those who export terror into Lebanon are not entitled to have concerns about extremism here," he said, in a direct reference to Assad's comments.
Assad said on Thursday he had asked his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman, who visited Damascus in August, to urgently send more troops to northern Lebanon to combat what he called "extremism."
The ruling bloc had earlier accused Damascus of "flagrant interference" in its affairs after the Syrian president urged his Lebanese counterpart to send troops to the north to quell sectarian fighting.
"The words of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad about what he requested from President Michel Sleiman... is flagrant interference in internal Lebanese affairs," the statement from the Western-backed ruling coalition said.
"This comes from a lack of recognition of Lebanon's sovereignty and independence," it added.
At least 23 people have been killed since violence erupted in May in the northern port city of Tripoli between backers of the Lebanese opposition led by the Shiite movement Hezbollah and Sunni supporters of the anti-Syrian majority.
Syria was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in 2005 after three decades of military and political domination of its smaller neighbor following the assassination of former billionaire premier Rafiq Hariri but continues to wield influence through its allies in Beirut.