MASNAA, Lebanon - Hundreds of trucks carrying goods out of Lebanon were held up on the Syrian border on Monday, with Syrian authorities denying the hold-ups were politically motivated.

The queue of lorries stretched across the 12 kilometres (7 miles) of no-man's land between the Masnaa and Jeidet Yabuss crossing points on the main road between Beirut and Damascus, an AFP correspondent reported.

"Only one truck went through on Sunday and six on Saturday despite the fact there are hundreds of us waiting under the blazing sun," said a Lebanese driver trying to get his cargo of fruit and vegetables through Syria to Jordan.

Syrian authorities have said that the tail-back is due to increased security measures and trade, while many Lebanese claim they are being punished after having recently shaken off the yoke of decades of Syrian domination.

Syria's customs director general said the delays were also linked to work being carried out at the border crossing.

"The slowness of traffic at crossing points on Syria's borders ... is partially due to a major plan aimed at modernising all Syria's border crossings, including those with Lebanon," Bassel Sannufa was quoted as saying by Syrian newspapers on Monday.

Sannufa rejected accusations that the delays were punishment after Syrian armed forces were forced to leave the country in April after an almost three-decade presence.

Lebanese business groups say they are losing 300,000 dollars a day as a result of the slow processing of goods at the frontier.

Trade between the two countries was valued at 400 million dollars in 2004, with Lebanon exporting goods worth 145 million dollars to Syria in the same year.

Copyright © 1999-2005 Lenanonwire^®.com. All rights reserved.