(Newser)
–
With Syrian militants crossing back and forth across the northern Lebanon border, the Syrian foreign ministry has told Lebanon to put a stop to it or else face military strikes, reports Reuters via the Christian Science Monitor. "Syrian forces have so far exercised restraint from striking at armed gangs inside Lebanese territory," says the Syrian diplomatic cable, adding that "patience is not unlimited." The Syrian war has driven about a million Syrians seeking shelter into Lebanon, a country of 4 million people.
Meanwhile, the New York Times takes a look at the "bitterly personal war" in Syria, as lightly armed rebels and the Syrian military fight for control of a four-lane "death highway" connecting Hama and Aleppo. Opposition militants have taken control over much of northern Syria and are trying to choke out government forces, clustered mostly in military bases in cities—but the process is brutally slow. "They believe in their fates, and that everything comes from God," says one opposition commander.
