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Syria Warplanes Hit Lebanon for First Time Syrian Opposition Elects a U.S. Citizen as Prime Minister
(about 1 hour later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian warplanes attacked targets inside eastern Lebanon on Monday, the first time since the Syria conflict began two years ago that the military has used its air force to strike at suspected rebel hide-outs across the Lebanon border. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s main opposition group elected a naturalized American citizen early Tuesday as the first prime minister of its planned interim government, hoping to establish administrative authority in areas of northern Syria that have been secured by insurgents fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
The aerial assault, reported by Lebanon’s National News Agency and other news outlets in Lebanon, was the third serious border episode tied to the Syria conflict in the past two weeks and underscored how the violence threatens to engulf the country’s neighbors. After a prolonged day of maneuvering and voting on Monday that lasted into the early-morning hours, representatives of the opposition coalition, meeting in Istanbul, chose Ghassan Hitto, 50, a former information technology executive, who emigrated from Syria many years ago and until recently had lived in Texas. Mr. Hitto was heavily involved in volunteer efforts to help Syrians whose lives had been upended by the two-year-old uprising against Mr. Assad.
It came as representatives of Syria’s main political opposition group were meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, to establish the beginnings of a provisional government, to be based in rebel-held areas of northern Syria, that would theoretically compete with President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Damascus. The first step was to select a prime minister, but representatives meeting late into Monday night were reported to be still voting on a choice. In voting that was televised live by al-Jazeera, Mr. Hitto won 35 votes, three more than his closest competitor, Asaad Mustafa, a former Syrian agriculture minister.
There was speculation the front-runner was Ghassan Hitto, a communications executive who used to live in Texas. But opposition officials said other candidates were also in contention, notably Asaad Mustafa, a former agriculture minister, and Osama Kadi, an economist. It was unclear when an official announcement would be made. Mr. Hitto is married to Suzanne Hitto, an American schoolteacher, and they have four children, who were all born in the United States. His eldest son, Obaida, has been working in Syria for the opposition and was injured there in a bombing, according to biographical material distributed by the opposition’s press office.
“A lot of the sons of this country had to leave for various reasons,” Mr. Hitto said in a precorded video, apparently made to be released and posted on YouTube if he were chosen as prime minister. “But Syrian people must carry their homeland in their heart wherever they go.”
He is expected to select other ministers in coming days for a government that is not yet physically in place in northern Syria. It is also unclear whether all rebel fighters united in their desire to oust Mr. Assad will recognize the interim government as a legitimate authority.
The announcement that Mr. Hitto had won came hours after Syrian warplanes attacked targets inside eastern Lebanon, the first time since the Syria conflict began that the military had used its air force to strike at suspected rebel hide-outs across the Lebanon border. The aerial assault was the third serious border episode tied to the Syria conflict in the past two weeks and underscored how the violence threatens to engulf the country’s neighbors.
The concept of a rival government run by the opposition inside Syrian territory has faced a mixed reaction in the United States, which has long demanded that Mr. Assad resign and that an independent transitional government acceptable to all sides replace him, as agreed to in a major conference on Syria in Geneva nine months ago. “That’s the road forward,” Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Monday in Washington. “But you have to have a President Assad who is willing to appoint that independent entity. And as of this moment, he is not.”The concept of a rival government run by the opposition inside Syrian territory has faced a mixed reaction in the United States, which has long demanded that Mr. Assad resign and that an independent transitional government acceptable to all sides replace him, as agreed to in a major conference on Syria in Geneva nine months ago. “That’s the road forward,” Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Monday in Washington. “But you have to have a President Assad who is willing to appoint that independent entity. And as of this moment, he is not.”
While the United States is not yet willing to provide weapons to the insurgency, as France and Britain have said they are prepared to do, Mr. Kerry reiterated the Obama administration’s position that “that the United States does not stand in the way of other countries that have made a decision to provide arms, whether it’s France or Britain or others.”While the United States is not yet willing to provide weapons to the insurgency, as France and Britain have said they are prepared to do, Mr. Kerry reiterated the Obama administration’s position that “that the United States does not stand in the way of other countries that have made a decision to provide arms, whether it’s France or Britain or others.”
Earlier on Monday, Lebanon’s National News Agency said in a brief dispatch that “warplanes affiliated with the Syrian Air Force” had attacked the Wadi al-Khayl Valley area, near the Lebanese border town of Arsal, without specifying whether they had caused casualties or damage. The mountainous area is known for its porous border. It is considered a haven for Syrian insurgents, and the civilian population there largely opposes Mr. Assad.Earlier on Monday, Lebanon’s National News Agency said in a brief dispatch that “warplanes affiliated with the Syrian Air Force” had attacked the Wadi al-Khayl Valley area, near the Lebanese border town of Arsal, without specifying whether they had caused casualties or damage. The mountainous area is known for its porous border. It is considered a haven for Syrian insurgents, and the civilian population there largely opposes Mr. Assad.
Syrian forces have occasionally fired guns or mortar rounds across the Lebanon border in clashes with anti-Assad fighters, but had never before used warplanes to attack suspected rebel positions inside Lebanese territory.Syrian forces have occasionally fired guns or mortar rounds across the Lebanon border in clashes with anti-Assad fighters, but had never before used warplanes to attack suspected rebel positions inside Lebanese territory.
There was no immediate explanation for the attack from the Syrian government. But it had warned on Thursday that its forces might fire into Lebanon because of what it called repeated incursions by terrorist gangs, the standard official Syrian terminology for the armed opposition to Mr. Assad.There was no immediate explanation for the attack from the Syrian government. But it had warned on Thursday that its forces might fire into Lebanon because of what it called repeated incursions by terrorist gangs, the standard official Syrian terminology for the armed opposition to Mr. Assad.
Lebanon’s government, mindful of the long history of entanglements with its neighbor, has sought to remain neutral over the conflict in Syria. But sectarian tensions have been stoked by the conflict nonetheless, aggravated in part by the influx of more than 300,000 Syrians seeking refuge in Lebanon. Many of them are Sunnis, the Islamic sect that also forms the backbone of the insurgency. Mr. Assad’s minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.Lebanon’s government, mindful of the long history of entanglements with its neighbor, has sought to remain neutral over the conflict in Syria. But sectarian tensions have been stoked by the conflict nonetheless, aggravated in part by the influx of more than 300,000 Syrians seeking refuge in Lebanon. Many of them are Sunnis, the Islamic sect that also forms the backbone of the insurgency. Mr. Assad’s minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Hostilities in the Syrian conflict have spilled over at least two other frontier areas this month. On March 4, anti-Assad insurgents in western Iraq killed dozens of Syrian soldiers who had temporarily sought safety on the Iraqi side of the border. On March 6, insurgents seized a group of United Nations soldiers on patrol in the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel, the first time international peacekeepers had been ensnared in the Syrian conflict, but they were released three days later.Hostilities in the Syrian conflict have spilled over at least two other frontier areas this month. On March 4, anti-Assad insurgents in western Iraq killed dozens of Syrian soldiers who had temporarily sought safety on the Iraqi side of the border. On March 6, insurgents seized a group of United Nations soldiers on patrol in the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel, the first time international peacekeepers had been ensnared in the Syrian conflict, but they were released three days later.

Hania Mourtada reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Anne Barnard contributed reporting from Beirut, and Hala Droubi from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Hania Mourtada reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Anne Barnard contributed reporting from Beirut, and Hala Droubi from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.