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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syria confirms deployment of army along Lebanese border |
| 2008-10-09 |
| A few tents and trucks dotting a green hill across the river are about all that is visible of a Syrian troop deployment on Lebanon's northern border - a buildup that has raised concerns of a possible Syrian incursion. There was no sign Wednesday that the Syrian troops were preparing to cross the border. Syria says the deployment - first made public several weeks ago - is aimed at preventing smuggling from Lebanon. But the United States and some anti-Syrian politicians in Beirut have warned that Syria could attempt an incursion, a concern raised especially after a Sept. 27 car bombing in Damascus killed 17 people. In Washington, Deputy State Department spokesman Robert Wood on Monday said, "Any intervention by Syrian troops into Lebanon would be unacceptable." Syria's secular government has said the Damascus bombers were Islamic militants who entered from another country, though it did not specify which. Syrian President Bashar Assad had warned days earlier that militants were setting up base in northern Lebanon and that they could threaten Syrian security. Two days after the Damascus blast, suspected militants bombed a bus carrying Lebanese soldiers in the northern port city of Tripoli, killing seven people - the second such attack against the Lebanese military. But there was no immediate sign of a connection to the Damascus bombing, although also Islamic militants are suspected. The head of the anti-Syrian bloc in parliament, Saad Hariri, rejected Assad's claims of militants operating in northern Lebanon, saying the accusations and the Syrian deployment were part of a series of intimidations against Lebanon. Hadi Hobeish, a lawmaker allied to Hariri representing the Akkar region bordering Syria, accused Damascus of movement of saboteurs. It was the first confirmation of the deployment by Damascus mentioning specific troop figures. The Syrian official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Since the initial deployment several weeks ago on the northern border near the Mediterranean coast, Syria has more recently reportedly deployed more troops nearby in a stretch of about 50 kilometers inland toward the northeast of Lebanon, according to Lebanese security officials. The pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper has reported that the deployment included battle tanks and that troops dug trenches and blocked smuggling routes along the border with dirt mounds. |
| Posted by:Fred |