BEIRUT, March 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Syrian Foreign Ministry has threatened to strike militants' bases on Lebanese territory if Beirut fails to beef up security on their common border and prevent infiltration, local media reported on Friday.
“The Syrian armed forces have showed restraint and have not delivered strikes on the bases of militant groups in Lebanon to prevent their intrusion into Syria, but that cannot last forever,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement to the Lebanese Foreign Ministry.
According to the Syrian Foreign Ministry, several groups of terrorists have infiltrated into Syria from Lebanon in the past 36 hours and the Syrian army is currently fighting them in several villages near the border.
Syria’s state-run news agency Sana claimed earlier this month that the United States military had made raids into Syria from Lebanon and Jordan for reconnaissance purposes and was preparing terrorist operations in support of Syrian rebels. The United States has consistently denied giving any military help to the Syrian opposition.
Syria has been locked in an increasingly bloody civil war since demonstrations broke out against President Assad in March 2011. According to UN estimates, at least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
