Syrian rejection to send forces to the borders with Iraq

A Syrian parliamentarian has expressed his rejection of the American repeated demands for his country to dispatch forces to guard its border with Iraq in order to prevent the sneaking of what Washington call foreign fighters, noting that Damascus will not isolate its borders with Israel in order to help the American forces in Iraq.

The Syrian parliamentarian Suleiman Haddad said that his country will not send additional forces to the border with Iraq in response to Washington's request " to ban the entry of foreign fighters to Biladd al-Rafaydeen ( Mesopotamia )," adding that Syria will not evacuate its borders with Israel in order to pretext the American forces in Iraq and will not play the role of the guard either for the US or other world countries.

The US secretary of state Colin Powell had called on the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to prevent the sneaking of what they called foreign fighters, noting that Washington had explained to Damascus ways that it should pursue to stop the border crossing.

Syria replied that it is responsible for the official border points, noting that it does not maintain its control completely on its vast border ( more than 965 Km) with Iraq.