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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanese Troops Respond to Killing |
| 2005-10-26 |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon - The Lebanese military increased pressure against pro-Syrian militants in Lebanon on Wednesday, surrounding a mountain militia base and deploying hundreds of soldiers to another base following the killing of a Lebanese contractor. The show of force comes amid weeks of increased tensions along the Lebanese-Syrian border and hours before a report by the U.N. special envoy on Syria-Lebanon, Terje Roed-Larsen, on disarming Lebanese militias is released. Dozens of soldiers took up positions around a base of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command in Sultan Yacoub, a village some 3 miles from the Syrian border, witnesses said. Soldiers using loud speakers demanded the Palestinians leave the base, but several militants could be seen holding their weapons within the heavily fortified camp, which is surrounded by sand bags and walls. Army checkpoints were set up, stopping and searching all cars entering the area, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear why the Lebanese military action was taken on the base, which has been hit several times previously by Israeli warplanes. The base is also equipped with several tunnels dug into the mountain and used by the dozens of militants based there. It was also unclear if the Lebanese action was linked to the deployment of nearly 400 Lebanese soldiers to another Palestinian militant training camp outside Helweh, a village 5 miles east of Sultan Yacoub and also close to the Syrian border. The Lebanese military accuses militants from the pro-Syrian Fatah Uprising group in Helweh of shooting dead a Lebanese contractor working with the military on Tuesday. Dozens of elite commandos supported by tanks are among the deployment, which started moving into place late Tuesday near the remote southeastern village, said a Lebanese security official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to the media. Lebanese authorities are calling on the group to hand over the killers of the civilian contractor, who was identified as Mohammed Ismail, said the official. But Fatah Uprising, one of several Damascus-based radical Palestinian factions with bases in Lebanon, has so far declined to turn any of its members over, claiming the group did not kill the contractor, the official said. Fatah Uprising broke with the mainstream Palestinian Fatah faction in 1983 and is led by the Syrian-based Col. Saeed Moussa, better known as Abu Moussa. It was unclear if the Lebanese army plans to storm the bases. Tensions have increased along the Lebanese-Syrian border since Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in April, ending a 29-year military presence, amid the crisis that followed the Feb. 14 assassination of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Lebanon has alleged in recent weeks that pro-Syrian Palestinian guerrillas have brought weapons into this country with the aim of causing disturbances. The Palestinians have denied the accusations. At a summit in Paris last week, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the smuggling of arms to Palestinian militants in Lebanon and discussed disarming Palestinians living here. Lebanon's government and Palestinian factions have formed a committee to arrange for the eventual removal of Palestinian weapons outside refugee camps and for their regulation inside camps. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 Start shelling the place, deport the survivors. QED Take back your counrty. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2005-10-26 13:16 |
| #1 How about "kill them and take back your country"? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-26 10:11 |