Syria has closed a border crossing with northeastern Lebanon as a result of the Nahr al-Bared fighting, leaving only one land passage between the two countries open.

Lebanese security officials said Syrian authorities on Wednesday closed the Qaa-Jousseh crossing, leaving only the main Beirut-Damascus link at Masnaa in the eastern Bekaa Valley open.

Syria closed two other crossings -- Arida and Dabussiya -- with northern Lebanon after fighting broke out May 20 in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared where the Lebanese army is battling Fatah al-Islam terrorists.

At the time, the Syrians said the two crossings were closed for safety reasons.

LBC TV quoted unnamed officials later Wednesday as saying Syria may also close the Masnaa crossing in the coming hours.

Syria's official news agency SANA said Damascus has decided to close its border post with Lebanon because of the battle between Lebanese troops and Fatah al-Islam.

The closure decided by the interior ministry will stay in place "until calm has returned to northern Lebanon," SANA said late Wednesday. It was designed "to protect Syrian and Lebanese citizens".

Wednesday's closure came as an Arab League delegation was in Beirut meeting with Lebanese leaders, dispatched here after Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentary majority demanded the Arabs act to end Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs and alleged smuggling of weapons and militants into this country. Syria denies the accusations.

The Arab team was sent to Lebanon after a foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo last week following the assassination of pro-government Beirut MP Walid Eido which his supporters blamed on Syria.

Since Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005 under international pressure, Syria has used the flow of goods and people across the border as a pressure tactic against Lebanon, Lebanese opponents of Damascus have said.

In mid 2005, slow processing of trucks carrying goods led to long lines on the crossings, prompting calls from the United States and other countries on Syria to end it.

The closure also was reported by the official Lebanese news agency. It said vehicle and passenger traffic in both directions was closed by the Syrians and that no reason was given.

Damascu , which did not officially confirm the move, has in the past threatened to close its land border with Lebanon if an international force is deployed along the boundary to prevent the illegal transfer of weapons to Lebanon, as was envisaged in a U.N. Security Council resolution that ended last summer's Israel-Hizbullah war.

A full closure of Lebanon's border with Syria would sever Beirut's land links with the Arab world and could severely hurt its economy.

AP-AFP-Naharnet