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Lebanese troops fire at Syrian warplanes | Lebanese troops fire at Syrian warplanes |
(35 minutes later) | |
Lebanese troops have fired at Syrian warplanes violating its airspace, for what is thought to be the first time since the conflict in Syria began. | |
Lebanon's National News Agency said the army had responded to a raid on Khirbet Daoud, near Arsal in the Bekaa Valley. | |
Syrian government forces have fired into Lebanon in the past, targeting rebels sheltering over the border. | |
The Lebanese authorities had until now not responded militarily, hoping they would not be dragged into the war. | |
Arsal is predominantly Sunni and its residents have been broadly supportive of the Sunni-dominated uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam. | |
The north-eastern town has been flooded with refugees since the Syrian military launched an offensive in the Qalamoun mountains last month. | |
Some 20,000 people have settled in makeshift camps, as Syrian troops backed by members of the militant Lebanese Shia Islamist movement Hezbollah have sought to cut rebel cross-border supply routes. |
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