BEIRUT, 23 November 2005 — Lebanon yesterday marked its first Independence Day for three decades without the presence of Syrian troops but events were shadowed by deadly clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on its southern border.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said the attacks in the past 24 hours were the fiercest by both sides since Israeli troops quit south Lebanon after 22 years’ occupation, a withdrawal claimed as victory by Hezbollah.

Meanwhile pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud, under pressure since Syria pulled out its troops from Lebanon last April, sat in frosty silence next to his rival, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, at an Independence Day military parade.

Siniora blamed the Jewish state for the latest clashes, saying that Israeli aircraft “have never stopped violating Lebanese airspace in the past weeks”, fuelling tension at the frontier.

In a gesture toward Damascus, he said Beirut wanted good relations with its large neighbor who dominated Lebanon since it sent in troops in 1976. But, he said, that depended on Syria. “We want to have excellent relations with Syria, based on mutual respect.”

He added: “The problem is not on the side of Lebanon which unceasingly expresses its stand for ties based on cooperation and mutual respect.”

Relations between Damascus and Beirut deteriorated dramatically after the murder of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri in February, and led to the pullout of Syrian forces two months later under international pressure.

An official with the UN peacekeeping force told AFP that the situation in the southern frontier zone remained “very tense and dangerous”.

Chants of “Death to Israel, Death to America” rang through village Zibqin as thousands of Hezbollah supporters attended the funeral of Yussef Ali Barak, one of the four militants killed on Monday.

“Islamic Resistance (the armed wing of Hezbollah) has given one of the most beautiful pictures of defending Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence against Israel,” Sheikh Nabil Qauq, the local Hezbollah official in the south, told mourners.

“We are determined to free Shebaa Farms and release the prisoners held in Israeli prisons,” he added.