Syrian rebels attacked a Lebanese army post near the border between the two countries, without causing casualties, Lebanon's military said on Saturday. On Friday night, "a large number of insurgents attacked a Lebanese army post in the Arsal region. This was the second time in less than a week that the Free Syrian Army has entered Lebanese territory," an official communique said.

"Army reinforcements were dispatched to the area and began to pursue the gunmen, who fled after the attack towards the mountains and several border towns and villages" inside Lebanon. "The army leadership will not allow any party to use Lebanese territory to implicate Lebanon in events in neighbouring countries, and reaffirms its determination to protect Lebanese territory," it added.

The border between the two states, which spans across the north of Lebanon and down the whole length of the country on the east, is porous and not defined in several areas. Sunni residents of the town of Arsal, 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the border, support the Syrian revolt and accuse Syria's army of carrying out regular incursions and kidnapping refugees.

But pro-Damascus Lebanese groups, such as the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, accuse the Sunni village of facilitating the smuggling of weapons and fighters to rebels across the border.
And shelling from Syria into Lebanon and cross-border shootings have become regular occurrences.

Lebanon's political parties are deeply divided over the Syrian revolt, with the Western-backed opposition supporting the uprising and the powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah a lead backer of President Bashar al-Assad.