US calls on Syria to contain Hizbullah

The US has asked Syria to pressure Hizbullah group in order to stop its attacks against the Israeli forces which occupies the Lebanese Shebaa farms.

The spokesman for the US Department Of State, Richard Boucher, said in a statement late night on Monday: we have asked all sides in the region to use their influence to prevent this kind of bombardment and to maintain calm on the Lebanese- Israeli borders.

Meantime, US Secretary Of State Colin Powell criticized his Syrian counterpart Farouk al-Shara accusing him of escalating "verbal tension" with Israel. He added "statements of this kind do not help us, nor any side in the region to progress, rather leads to increasing tension." For his part, UN Envoy to the Middle East Terje Roed-Larsen condemned the attacks in Shebaa farms and described it as a grave violation to the "blue line." He called on sides concerned for self- control, demanding the Lebanese government, in particular to impose its full control on its territories.

Fighters of the Hizbullah party and the Israeli forces exchanged bombardment in Shebaa farms which are occupied by Israel.

Meantime, the political official for Hizbullah party in South Lebanon Sheikh Khuder Nour Eddine stressed that the fire exchange with the Israeli forces will not affect the issue of prisoner exchange between Hizbullah and Israel.