Syria, Lebanon reopen border crossing in Homs

The Syrian and Lebanese authorities on Thursday reopened a border crossing that had been closed for five years in Syria's central province of Homs, the media reported.

The Jawsiyah crossing in Qussair town southwest of Homs had been closed as a result of the ongoing conflict and both countries relied largely on the Masnaa crossing near Damascus, state news agency SANA reported.

Interior Minister Muhammad Sha'ar and Homs Governor Talal Barazi attended the reopening ceremony. Travellers and passengers can travel to Lebanon through this crossing from Friday, Xinhua news agency cited the report in SANA as saying.

Syria and Lebanon share four border crossings, three of which were closed during the war, but most travellers have used the Masnaa crossing.

For the Syrians, travelling to Beirut was a must in order to catch an international flight as all international flights to Damascus were halted during the war.

--IANS

soni/bg