Annan calls for lift of blockade on Lebanon
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said it was time for Israel to lift a “humiliating” blockade on Lebanon.
“We need to deal with the lifting of the embargo — sea, land and air — which for the Lebanese is a humiliation, and infringement on their sovereignty,” Annan said before ending his visit and flying to Israel Tuesday.
Israel has maintained its blockade on Lebanon despite a ceasefire that took effect on August 14, ending a month-long offensive against the country.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert conditioned the lifting of the blockade on the deployment of international troops at the Beirut airport and on the border with Syria.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned that such a deployment would be viewed as a hostile act and threatened to close the border with Lebanon if it happened.
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