The post Syria says it foiled attempt to smuggle rifles, drones into Lebanon via illegal border crossing appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Syrian authorities claimed on Friday to have thwarted an attempt to smuggle weapons into Lebanon, Syrian state media SANA reported. The weapons, which included a number of missiles, were said to have been crossing into Lebanon from an illegal crossing before they could reach Lebanese territory.

The fall of the Assad regime will have a substantial impact on Lebanese politics, highlighting border tensions, refugee challenges, and Hezbollah’s influence. Normalization with Damascus depends on Lebanon’s domestic politics,

Pakistan on Friday called on Israel to withdraw from Lebanese and Syrian territories, including Golan Heights, and allow UN peacekeepers to operate without obstruction to ensure compliance with international agreements for advancing sustainable peace and stability in the Middle East.

Syria was the dominant power in Lebanon for three decades under the Assad family, with President Hafez al-Assad intervening in its 1975-1990 civil war and his son Bashar al-Assad only withdrawing Syria's troops in 2005 following mass protests triggered by the assassination of Lebanese ex-Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.

Syria's new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa and Lebanon's prime minister vowed on Saturday to build lasting ties after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa said the new Syria would "stay at equal distance

The visit by Prime Minister Najib Mikati was the first official trip by the Lebanese leader to meet with the new government of Syria.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will meet Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Saturday, two Lebanese sources said, becoming the first head of government to visit Syria's capital since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Najib Mikati’s visit, the first in 15 years, comes amid pressure in Lebanon to release Islamists imprisoned during the civil war and just after the election of President Joseph Aoun.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk arrived in Syria's capital, Damascus, on Tuesday for the first ever visit of the global body's rights chief to the country.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa met Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Damascus on Saturday in a bid to improve long-fraught ties, with the pair focusing on strengthening their shared border.

Hundreds protested in Lebanon's second city Tripoli on Sunday, demanding that authorities release Islamists detained during the civil war in neighbouring Syria, an AFP journalist said.The prisoners include Lebanese who had gone to fight with rebels and jihadists against the forces of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad during the conflict,