U.N. Calls for Avoiding Any Action that Adds to Regional Tension

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U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky has said that any action which adds to tension in the region should be avoided after Hizbullah vowed retaliation to what it said was an Israeli raid on one of its positions on the Lebanese-Syrian border.

“We don’t have independent confirmation about air strikes. We’ve seen the media reports,” Nesirky said Thursday.

“Anything that adds to the tensions in an already tense region, we would certainly suggest should be discouraged. There is enough going on in the region as it is,” he added when asked about the raid.

Hizbullah said Wednesday that the resistance will “choose the right time and place to retaliate” to the strike near Janta.

The Monday airstrike caused material damage but no casualties, it said.

The Israeli military declined comment, though senior security officials confirmed Israel's involvement in remarks to the Associated Press.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group said Israeli warplanes bombed a rocket launcher for Hizbullah fighters near the villages of Janta and Yahfoufa along the border. 

Lebanon's Ambassador to the U.N., Nawaf Salam, filed a complaint to the world body over the raid after Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil requested him to take action.

An Nahar daily said Friday that Salam handed U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and the head of the Security Council for this month an official letter.

He also requested that the letter become an official document and copies be distributed to the members of the Security Council while holding onto Lebanon’s right to call for a Council session when it deems appropriate.