August 19, 2013 02:25 PM (Last updated: August 19, 2013 03:05 PM)
By Nafez Kawas
The Daily Star
File photo shows the remains of a rocket, which residents say was recently fired into the Bekaa Valley town of Hermel. (REUTERS/Rami Bleibel)
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman ordered the Lebanese Army Monday to respond if attacked, after condemning a weekend rocket attack from Syria.
Sleiman “ordered the Lebanese Army to determine the source of fire and deal with it with the appropriate means,” a presidential statement said.
Sleiman also criticized the firing of rockets from areas within Lebanon that recently struck near the presidential palace as well as in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut.
“Lebanon is surprised by acts of [violence] such as the firing of rockets in a clear attempt to stir up tension and move the [Syria] conflict deep into Lebanon, something that will be confronted,” Sleiman said according to the statement.
He said Lebanon will take “all the measures to guarantee the protection of stability and civil peace.”
On Sunday, four rockets fired from Syria slammed into the northern Bekaa Valley city of Hermel, causing damage but no casualties.
Lebanon has been struck by a series of rocket salvos in recent months fired by Syrian rebels, targeting pro-Hezbollah areas in the Bekaa Valley.
Two rockets fired earlier this month from an area overlooking Beirut exploded near the presidential palace in suburban Baabda. No one was hurt.
In July, two rocket launch pads were found in the Kesrouan area of Ballouneh, hours after a rocket slammed into a valley in Jamhour near Baabda Palace and the Defense Ministry in Yarze.
Two rockets hit the Beirut southern suburb of Shiyah in May, wounding four people.
via Lebanon Army ordered to respond to Syrian attacks | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR.
