Military sources told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that "the Lebanese army similar to any other army witnesses some defections but the focus on the recent cases was compelled by the fact that the runaway soldiers defected and joined the ranks of terrorist organizations."
"The fleeing of such soldiers doesn't impact the military negatively but rather cleans the institution from such models."
The sources ruled out reports saying that those who defected were kidnapped, confirming that they are runaways and have search warrants against them.
Any soldier who fails to show up at service would be considered a runaway after 42 hours and an arrest warrant would be issued against him. He would also be referred to the military court, which applies on the three soldier runaways.
"The three soldiers found a safe haven at these (terrorist) organizations," the source told the newspaper.
As Safir newspaper reported on Monday that the suspicious defection by some soldiers increases concern that the army is being targeted with a "dangerous ambush."
"There are attempts to create chaos and confusion among the ranks of the army."
Fugitive soldier Abdullah Ahmed Shehade, who hails from the town of Mashha, defected on Friday and joined the ranks of al-Nusra
...the current nom de guerre of al-Qaeda in the Levant, which isn't to be confused with al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant...
Front hours after the group published a video in which soldier Mohammed Antar announced that he had "joined the jihadists."
Shehade is a member of the Fifth Intervention Regiment.
Antar, who is from the Rafik Hariri International Airport's guard platoon, said in his video that "he defected to the bully boy group to defend the Sunni community and in protest at Hizbullah
...
Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as
The Resistanceand purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
's practices."
The first time a Lebanese soldier defected to the Nusra Front in neighboring Syria was in July.
Corporal Atef Mohammed Saadeddine claimed in a video that his move came as a result of the injustice against Sunnis in Leb.
Islamists in the country claim that Sunnis are facing harassment by the army, which they accuse of working under the command of Hizbullah.
The Shiite party has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to help the regime of
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
against the rebels fighting his troops.
Hizbullah members have engaged in bloody gunbattles with al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front, the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
group and other Syrian opposition fighters in Syria and the border region with Leb.
The jihadist groups took several Lebanese soldiers and coppers hostage in August and executed three of them.