US senator meets Lebanese leaders

An influential US senator expressed support for the Syrian opposition on Wednesday, following meetings with top Lebanese officials and a visit to Syrian refugees in northern Lebanon as a violent crackdown continued in Syrian cities. “I and a number of my colleagues in the US Senate are very concerned about the conflict in Syria and about the atrocities that are being carried out by the government forces,” Joseph Lieberman told reporters after meeting prime minister Najib Mikati. “I’m also concerned that people in the region and throughout the world have not done enough to be supportive of the opposition in Syria to Assad,” he said in reference to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, according to AFP. The independent senator, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is hawkish on national security and, along with Republican John McCain, has advocated the arming of the opposition against Assad’s regime. Lieberman earlier Wednesday visited the northern Lebanese region of Wadi Khaled, which is located near the Syrian border and houses the majority of an estimated 24,000 Syrians who have sought refuge in Lebanon. The senator and his delegation toured the Lebanese-Syrian border, escorted by the Lebanese Army, according to Mahmoud Khazaal, a local official charged with overseeing refugee affairs. Lieberman met 25 refugee representatives at the official’s home in the border town of Mukaybleh. “The delegation asked whether the aid which reached them was sufficient and promised to provide assistance,” Khazaal said. The senator said he “respects” the position of the Lebanese government, which is dominated by the Syrian-backed militant group Hezbollah, to “disassociate” itself from the conflict in Syria. “I couldn’t frankly make the same request to him (Mikati) as I made in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which is: please help these people in Syria that are fighting for their own freedom,” Lieberman said.