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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Army tightens siege of Palestinian militants |
| 2005-10-31 |
| EFL: As diplomats were mulling the text of the resolution, the Lebanese Army was tightening the noose around seven Palestinian militant bases close to the Syrian border after a militant leader said his men were holding six soldiers captive and the UN envoy called for action to disarm the fighters. Officers said some 500 soldiers backed by 50 armored cars were now deployed around the camps in the foothills of the Anti-Lebanon range that marks the border â two operated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) and five by Fateh-Intifada. Troops were seen manning checkpoints on all access roads to the bases and operating armored patrols on the tracks linking PFLP-GC bases in Sultan Yakoub and Kfarazabad to those of Fateh-Intifada around Halwa, 15 kilometers away. The immediate trigger for the deployment around the bases was the murder of a surveyor working for the Lebanese military the previous day, which commanders blame on militants of Fateh-Intifada. âWe have irrefutable proof that the surveyor was killed by shots coming from a base operated by Fateh-Intifada, which is prevaricating and has yet to hand over the killers,â the officer said. âWe will keep up our siege until the killers are surrendered.â In a new twist to the stand-off, PFLP-GC leader Ahmad Jibril said in comments last week that his men were holding six soldiers captive. A military source in Beirut denied that any soldiers had been captured and said the Army Command would be putting out a statement, but the communiqué was later cancelled. Jibril also charged that the Army had detained three PFLP-GC militants, one of them a commander, but he gave no details about the circumstances of their capture. He hit out at the tight siege imposed by the army on Sultan Yaakoub and said he had spoken to Prime Minister Fuad Saniora about the deployment by telephone on Wednesday evening. âI told him that we were not against the Army deploying provided they did not come near our bases,â Jibril said. Army units were also closing off, by means of earthen ramparts, several illegal roads leading into the North Hermel area from Syria in order to stop the smuggling of diesel fuel from Syria into Lebanon. The siege of the Palestinian bases came as UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen presented a report in New York charging that the continued presence of armed Palestinian militants in Lebanon violated a Security Council resolution adopted in September last year. That text called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops, eventually prompting Syria to end a 29-year military presence in April, as well as the disarmament of all militia groups, Lebanese or Palestinian. âThe existence of armed groups defying the control of the legitimate government, which by definition is vested with a monopoly on the use of force throughout its territory, is incompatible with the restoration and full respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence of the country,â Roed-Larsen said in his report. He condemned the âillegal transfer of arms and people toward armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon, which has threatened to cast a shadow on the efforts aimed at bolstering Lebanonâs sovereignty.â Lebanese security sources said earlier this month that Fateh-Intifada had received a consignment of weapons from Syria. Here are key points of Roed-Larsenâs report on implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559 on the restoration of Lebanonâs sovereignty and territorial integrity. ⢠On the presence of armed groups: âThe existence of armed groups defying the control of the legitimate government which by definition is vested with a monopoly on the use of force throughout its territory, is incompatible with the restoration and full respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence of the country.â âI am encouraged by my dialogue with the government of Lebanon on the extension of its control over all of Lebanonâs territory. Tangible results are yet to be achieved, and I will continue my efforts in this regard.â âI am encouraged by the design of a formal mechanism of internal dialogue on the issue of the arms of Palestinian militias in Lebanon, and the recent historic summit between Prime Minister Saniora and [Palestinian] President [Mahmoud] Abbas. âI look forward to the formalization of the ongoing domestic dialogue on the issue of the arms of Lebanese militias and their disbanding.â ⢠On the Shebaa Farms: âBoth the [Security] Council and I have repeatedly stated... that the Shebaa Farms area is not part of Lebanon. Therefore, any Lebanese âresistanceâ to âliberateâ the area from continued Israeli occupation cannot be considered legitimate.â âIn addition even if the Lebanese claim to the Shebaa Farms area were legitimate, it would be the responsibility of the government of Lebanon only to address this claim in conformity with international law and relevant Security Council resolutions.â ⢠On Syrian withdrawal, the border issue and elections: âThe requirements of the withdrawal of Syrian troops and military assets, as well as the conduct of free and credible legislative elections have been met.â âComplications have unfortunately arisen from the lack of a clearly agreed upon and demarcated border between Lebanon and Syria, and have highlighted the need for a formal border agreement and demarcation of that border.â âThere have also been difficulties related to the control of the border line between Lebanon and Syria, and the issue of the illegal transfer of arms and people toward armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon, which has threatened to cast a shadow on the efforts aimed at bolstering Lebanonâs sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence.â âTerrorism, in the form of bombings, assassinations, and attempted murders... has not succeeded in destabilizing Lebanon, jeopardizing the holding of free and credible parliamentary elections, or undermining its national unity nor political independence.â |
| Posted by:Steve |