The United States on Monday condemned the Syrian army’s incursions into neighboring Lebanon and suggested that dissidents of the Damascus regime had either been killed or taken prisoner at the border.
“Over the course of the last few weeks, it appears Syrian forces have entered Lebanese territory,” a State Department spokesman told reporters, denouncing the move and calling on Syria to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty.
“We are also deeply concerned by indications that Syrian dissidents may have been captured and possibly killed during operations near the border.”
Syria on Monday recalled its ambassador to Washington, according to an official television station, shortly after the United States said it had pulled out its envoy from Damascus for safety reasons.
The State Department said ambassador Robert Ford, an open critic of President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on political dissent, had left Syria indefinitely after “credible threats” against his security.
Lebanese officials estimate that 5,000 Syrians, including deserting soldiers and opposition members, have sought refuge in Lebanon since the uprising against Assad erupted in March.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week called on Syria to end incursions into Lebanon after Syrian troops shot three of its citizens dead near the border, warning that such raids could ignite tensions in the region.
Syria first sent it troops into Lebanon months after the outbreak of the country’s 1975-1990 civil war, and kept them deployed in its smaller neighbor for 29 years.
Assad withdrew forces from Beirut in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of billionaire former premier Rafiq Hariri, whose killing was initially widely blamed on Syria.