The Lebanese government undertook today to stop smuggling across Lebanon's border with Syria, playing down a controversy between Syria and Israel over whether UN forces should deploy there to stop arms shipments.
Syria threatened yesterday to close the border if the United Nations deploys troops there as part of its mission to enforce a truce between Israel and Hizbullah guerrillas.
Israel says it will not lift a sea and air blockade of Lebanon unless a reinforced UN peacekeeping force helps the Lebanese army control the border so that no new weapons reach Hizbullah in the south.
The dispute has the Lebanese government caught in the middle. Its priority is to reopen the country to the world but it has limited influence over either Syria and Israel.
Culture Minister Tareq Mitri, who led the Lebanese delegation in truce talks at the United Nations this month, said: "The Lebanese government is working hard to secure the border and lift the (Israeli) blockade."
"The Lebanese stance is clear. The sovereignty of any state includes securing its border crossings, preventing any smuggling attempts, and this is what the Lebanese state is planning to do," he told Voice of Lebanon radio.
"The rest of this issue falls into the category of ... provoking emotions and fears," he added.
The truce came into effect on Aug. 14, ending a 34-day war between by Israel and Hizbullah. More than 1,100 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Lebanon and 157 in Israel.
But the ceasefire is fragile and eyewitnesses said that Israeli warplanes flew the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon this morning -- an act Lebanon considers a truce violation.