BEIRUT: Future bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat warned Thursday of an impending Syrian attack on the northern border region of Wadi Khaled and said such a move would amount to a declaration of war on Lebanon.

“In the wake of conflicting reports about Syrian military preparations to cross the northern border and enter Wadi Khaled under the excuse of cracking down on Syrians dissidents – who are not present [there] – MP Fatfat warns of the great danger that would arise from such an attack on the sovereignty of the Lebanese state, Lebanese citizens and Syrian civilian refugees,” said a statement issued by the office of the Dinnieh lawmaker.

“Such an act would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Lebanon and must be met with a stern and clear stance from both the Lebanese government and the Lebanese Army,” Fatfat said.

He warned that the Lebanese people “cannot remain silent on something like this,” and said residents of northern Lebanon were duty-bound to defend their land against the “shabiha.”

There has been no confirmation of the "conflicting reports" to which Fatfat refers, but fears are high among members of the March 14 political coalition that the Syrian army intends to pursue defectors and other dissidents who have taken refuge in Lebanon, and that the Lebanese military is being dragged into the affair.