UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting Sunday after Syria complained to Secretary-General Kofi Annan over Israel’s air raid on a purported Palestinian training base near Damascus, a U.N. diplomat said.
The meeting was scheduled for 4.00 p.m. EDT, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He did not know how many of the 15 council members had confirmed their attendance.
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa lodged Syria’s complaint to Annan and the president of the Security Council, urging it to “immediately hold a session to discuss the Israeli aggression against Syrian territories and the measures the council ought to take to deter the Israeli government from following a provocative, aggressive policy against Syria.”
Al-Sharaa urged the Security Council to “condemn, deter and prevent the repetition of this dangerous development that threatens regional and international security and stability.”
The 22-member Arab League is also convening an emergency session Sunday.
The Israeli raid came in retaliation for a homicide bombing carried out by the Palestinian militant Islamic Jihad against a restaurant in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa Saturday. Nineteen people and the bomber were killed.
When will the UN address the issue of Syrian sponsored terrorism in Lebanon and within it’s own borders?