U.N. chief says Lebanon’s border must be controlled

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has highlighted the urgency of controlling and demarcating the porous Syria-Lebanon border to suppress arms smuggling, as he urged Hezbollah to refrain from military activity in Syria.

In his semiannual report on the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, which was issued Friday, Ban also pointed to the increased number of security incidents relating to the Syrian crisis, and urged political leaders to swiftly form a new government under Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, so that parliamentary elections can be held on time.

“The complex security situation along the Syrian-Lebanese border in the current circumstances, including credible reports of cross-border fighting and movement of arms and people, further underlines the urgency of demarcating the border,” Ban wrote in his report, acknowledging the bilateral responsibility for border delineation.

He also urged them to reach agreement on key security appointments. Mikati has said his resignation was over rifts within his Cabinet to extend the term of former police chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi.

“Political polarization and lack of agreement on an elections law and security appointments have made Lebanon even more vulnerable and less able to address the challenges it now faces,” Ban said.

As for Israel’s repeated violations of Lebanese airspace, Ban called on the country to cease its overflights and withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar and an adjacent area of the Blue Line.

He noted that the airspace violations undermine “the credibility of Lebanese security services and generate anxiety among the civilian population. They also greatly increase the risk of unintended consequences in an already very tense region.”