Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora urged Syria on Thursday to step up its efforts to prevent arms smuggling into Lebanon, echoing a request made by the United Nations in June after it investigated security along the two countries' shared border.

The UN resolution that ended last summer's Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah banned weapon transfers to the Iranian- and Syrian-backed militant group, but the Lebanese and Israeli governments have criticized alleged violations by Syria.

"We've always expressed the necessity for serious border control and suitable efforts by our brothers in Syria to control these borders," said Seniora, following a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. "The continuation of the [current] situation is subjecting Lebanon to the illegal smuggling of more goods, weapons and individuals."