U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is urging Lebanon and Syria to rein in Hezbollah, warning that its guerrilla attacks against Israeli forces in the Lebanon-Israel border region could trigger a wider conflict. 

Speaking after talks with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, Mr. Powell said it is essential for all those who are committed to peace to act immediately to stop aggressive actions along the entire border. 

However, Lebanon's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud described Hezbollah attacks on Israeli forces in the Shebaa Farms as resistance to Israeli occupation. He said developments in southern Lebanon cannot be isolated from what he called Israeli escalation in the West Bank. 

Secretary Powell also met with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The two men said they agreed that no cease-fire agreements will take hold without real work on finding political solutions in the Middle East. 

Arriving later in Damascus, the secretary of state said he wanted to get an assessment from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a way forward to negotiations to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

Mr. Powell returns to Israel later in the day to continue his efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian violence. His efforts so far have produced no breakthroughs. 

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

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