Syrian troops reportedly shell Lebanese Christian village

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 25 shells fired by Syrian troops during the night struck a Lebanese Christian village on the northern border, wounding one person and causing damage, officials said, according to AFP.

The border village of Minjez in the Akkar region was hit by at least 25 shells fired between midnight and 1:30 am on Friday, Aug 31 (22:30 GMT Thursday), Toni Antonios, an elected official from the Christian community, said, adding that a house was damaged.

A security official said a member of the security services was wounded by shrapnel.

"We have been the target for months of stray bullets and shelling which has displaced families who no longer dare go home. This is unacceptable," Antonios said.

"If they (Syrian troops) want to hunt down armed men, they must do it in their own land, not on our territory," he said, denying that Syrian rebels were in the village.

The border has seen frequent exchanges of fire and the Syrian authorities have placed landmines along the frontier after accusing "terrorists" of infiltrating from Lebanon and groups there of supporting the rebellion by arming insurgents.

The Damascus regime says it thwarts attempts by armed men to infiltrate Syria from Lebanon almost daily.

The UN Security Council on Thursday warned against attempts to destabilize Lebanon amid concerns of a possible spillover of the Syrian conflict into its neighbor.