BEIRUT, Aug 25: Lebanon is against the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping forces along its border with Syria, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said. “Only the Lebanese army is in charge of controlling the borders with Syria and it is out of the question to deploy the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),” he said.

“These are ideas put forward by Israel and the United States, but Lebanon does not take orders from anyone, neither the United States, nor Israel, nor Syria, nor Iran,” he said.

“The Lebanese government only asked for technical assistance to control the border with Syria, and Germany has also offered some help,” he said.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had expressed strong opposition to the deployment of UN troops to enforce an embargo along his country’s border with Lebanon.

Damascus has also threatened to close its border with Lebanon if UN peacekeepers were deployed there under a UN resolution that led to the halt to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah after a 34-day conflict.

UN Resolution 1701 calls for the deployment of 15,000 troops to beef up a UN peacekeeping force charged with policing a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.—AFP