Shorter Meets Moqbel, Announces UK Support to Establish and Equip 4th Land Border Regiment

British Ambassador Designate Hugo Shorter called on Minister of Defense Samir Moqbel at the ministry, to formally announce a $10 million UK support package for the establishment and equipping of a fourth Land Border Regiment (LBR) in what will be the latest phase of the UK’s “train and equip” partnership with the Lebanese army.

Shorter said after meeting the minister: “I am proud to announce that the UK will support the Lebanese army in establishing a fourth land border regiment.”

“This will further secure the remaining 100km stretch of Lebanon’s border and complement the outstanding work of the Army’s three existing land border regiments,” he explained according to a UK embassy statement.

The fourth LBR will have state of the art communications equipment and cameras, mobile observation platforms, border watchtowers and Land Rovers to help secure and mobilize LAF positions along the border.

“We are proud to help the brave men and women of the Lebanese army who are protecting Lebanon’s stability during this difficult time in the region,” continued the ambassador.

“We recognize that Lebanon continues to face great challenges, including from terrorism and the spill over of the Syria conflict. We are determined to stand by Lebanon’s side as it continues to defend its sovereignty and secure its stability and prosperity,” he stressed.

“It was inspiring to see the courage of the land border regiments who are on the frontline securing and protecting their country’s borders,” he said.

For his part, Moqbel welcomed the UK’s ongoing support and assistance to the Lebanese army, saying it has shown “high levels of competence at an important, indeed crucial time for Lebanon which is being targeted by terrorists.”

He added that the army is crucial in fighting terrorism.

The meeting with Moqbel followed Shorter’s first visit to the LBR in Chadra a day earlier where it all began to see firsthand the success of the Lebanese army’s project to secure the country’s borders.

He was accompanied by various military official and British Defense Attache Lt. Col. Chris Gunning.

In Akkar, Shorter was briefed by senior officers on how the LBRs are identifying, deterring and interdicting activities by illegal armed actors. This activity has enormously reduced cross-border smuggling and secured the livelihoods of communities in the area.

This new funding will conclude the UK's $50 million “train and equip” program to establish and strengthen the land border regiments, which is the largest part of the kingdom's support program to the Lebanese army.

The Lebanese army's Land Border Regiments have been operational since 2013. They are charged with detecting, deterring, and disrupting border attacks against Lebanon, and gaining the trust of local border communities. They have stopped shelling from Syria. They are repelling daily attacks by the Islamic State.

Working with the Intervention Brigades, they stopped a 2014 attack in August 2014 in the northeastern border town of Arsal - breaking the IS's “unstoppable” narrative. They continue to be the Lebanese State’s eyes, ears, and first responders across 75 percent of the Lebanon-Syria border.

The UK’s Strategic Defense and Security Review, released last month, announced: “We will also increase our support to Lebanon to reinforce its security”.