Army Ends Deployment along Northern Border Despite Security Fears

Military sources have appeased fears about a possible attempt by Syrian forces to cross the Nahr al-Kabir in northern Lebanon after an end to the deployment of the Lebanese army along the border with Syria.

The sources denied to An Nahar daily on Wednesday that the Syrian army would cross the border and reach Lebanon. The denial came amid rumors and fears among residents in the area about the possibility of infiltration by Syrian troops.

“The army has two brigades at the Andakat base. When Syrian refugees began streaming to Wadi Khaled, the two brigades were asked to deploy to control the security situation,” the sources said.

But there is no longer any need for their deployment after the flow of refugees stopped, they said.

Meanwhile, heavy gunfire was heard in northern Lebanon from the area between the Syrian towns of Halat and al-Dbabiyeh on Tuesday night. Al-Liwaa daily said that the incident was not the first of its kind.

“It is possible that Syrian troops were on a routine patrol when they found beasts in the bushes or clashed with infiltrators, opening fire on them,” sources told the newspaper.

Heavy gunfire was also heard in Wadi Khaled Monday night from the Syrian side of the border, causing panic among Lebanese residents and Syrian refugees.