Lebanon issues warning after Syria helicopter attack
Rare warning comes after Syrian helicopter gunship fired rockets at Lebanese town Arsal
Lebanon’s army warned on Wednesday it will hit back against any new attacks from Syria after a helicopter gunship struck an eastern town, ratcheting up tensions amid US-British talks on the conflict.
In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry and his British counterpart William Hague met on Wednesday, a day after President Barack Obama asked his security team to “look at all options” to help the Syrian opposition.
A Syrian helicopter gunship fired two rockets at the centre of Arsal, a Lebanese town populated mostly by Sunni Muslims, wounding one person, Lebanon’s army said.
In a rare warning against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, it said Lebanese troops “took the necessary defensive measures to respond immediately to any similar violations”.
Hague told a joint news conference that Britain and its allies must be “prepared to do more” to save lives in Syria, calling the conflict “the most urgent crisis anywhere in the world today” and a grave regional threat.
Kerry insisted the goal of diplomatic efforts was to reach a political solution and transition of power that “gives the Syrian people the chance to have a new beginning where they choose their future leadership”.