Anyone Attacking Libya Is Our Enemy as Well, Syria Says

BEIRUT —  Syria said Monday that anyone considering an attack on Libya would have to face the combined strength of the two countries.

Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam issued the warning in a statement to the official Libyan news agency Jana after arriving in Tripoli for a visit to Libya.

“We are warning those who are thinking of attacking Libya that they will be confronted with Libya’s and Syria’s capabilities together simultaneously,” Khaddam was reported as saying by the agency, monitored in Beirut.

Syria is one of Libya’s few allies in the Arab world. Libya last week accused Egypt of massing troops on its borders in preparation for an attack, a charge Cairo denied.

Tripoli has denied Egyptian charges that Libya was involved in last month’s hijacking of an Egyptian airliner to Malta. Sixty-one people died during the hijacking and a rescue attempt by Egyptian commandos.