Syria blames U.S. for Iraq infiltrators
23 Sep 2005 18:03:59 GMT
Source: Reuters
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Syria blamed the United States on
Friday for guerrilla infiltrations into Iraq, saying Washington had failed
to secure the other side of the Iraqi-Syrian border or provide promised
technical help.
Syrian ambassador Fayssal Mekdad told the United Nations his country had
deployed thousands of soldiers in an effort to secure the lengthy desert
border and had intercepted many attempted infiltrators.
"In return, those who ceaselessly hurl accusations against Syria have
failed to shoulder their responsibility to ensure effective control on the
borders from the other side," he said in an address to the 191-nation U.N.
General Assembly.
"Although some did promise to assist us and provide technical equipment
for border control, they have failed to come through on their promises,"
Mekdad added.
The U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad, said last week that
Washington's "patience is running out with Syria" on Iraq, and President
George W. Bush said Damascus could face isolation if it did not cooperate
with Baghdad on security.
Mekdad said Iraq faced a tragic situation because of "its occupation and
the attempts to fragment the unity of its land" that had killed thousands
of innocent Iraqis and destroyed the country's infrastructure.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari accused Syria on Wednesday of
failing to cooperate and stop insurgents and foreign fighters from
entering his country.
Syria has taken a low profile at this month's U.N. summit and General
Assembly session. Neither President Bashar al-Assad nor Foreign Minister
Farouk al-Shara came to New York.
Diplomats said they wanted to avoid ostracism over the assassination of
former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in February, in which a
U.N. investigator is conducting a probe in both Lebanon and Syria.
Mekdad omitted any mention of Lebanon, from which Syrian troops were
forced to withdraw by a U.N. resolution passed in the wake of Hariri's
killing.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N23648500.htm
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