Beirut, May 21 (IANS): Syrian Ambassador to Beirut Abdel Karim Ali said that a judicial complaint will be filed against Lebanese protesters who attacked refugees heading to the Embassy here to cast their votes for the Syrian presidential election.

"We want the judicial bodies, the army and political parties to take this matter seriously because it destroys Lebanon's image and harms relations between Syria and Lebanon," Xinhua news agency quoted Ali as saying in a statement on Thursday.

He noted that Syria has spared no efforts to provide facilities for the return of the displaced to their homeland.

The Lebanese have on several occasions complained about the presence of 1.5 million Syrian refugees in the country that is grappling with the worst economic crisis in its history.

The attack came as Syrian expatriates and refugees living outside their war-torn home country on Thursday started voting in the presidential election.

In Lebanon, buses loaded with Syrians carrying pictures of al-Assad and waving the Syrian flag headed towards the Syrian embassy on the outskirts of the capital Beirut for the one-day vote.