Hundreds of Palestinian insurgents entering Lebanon from Syria
IMRA  | 10-10-05
 

Lebanese security sources said hundreds o

Hundreds of Palestinian insurgents entering Lebanon from Syria

Geostrategy-Direct, www.geostrategy-direct.com, October 11, 2005

f Palestinian insurgents have crossed the Syrian border into Lebanon over the past two weeks. The sources said the insurgents, aided by Syria, have brought large amounts of weapons to their bases in Lebanon.

The government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has asked the United States to help secure the mountainous frontier with physical barriers, lethal platforms and sensors. At the same time, Lebanese troops and police have been deployed along the eastern border with Syria.

On Sept. 28, an FBI delegation began investigating a series of bombings of prominent Lebanese in the Beirut area. The attacks included the car bombing that maimed a Lebanese television journalist. Lebanese sources said fighters from the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command have been streaming into Lebanon. The PFLP-GC, headed by Syrian Army Capt. Ahmed Jibril, is the leading Palestinian ally of Damascus. The group has maintained bases in Lebanon despite the Syrian military withdrawal in April 2005. The Lebanese army established 25 border checkpoints and arrested scores of PFLP-GC fighters entering Lebanon's Bekaa Valley from Syria, the sources said. They said, however, that other insurgents have succeeded in resupplying PLFP-GC bases in Dir Al Asher, Naamah as well as the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla. In response, Jibril has declared an alert and directed commanders to prepare to mobilize forces. Jibril has appealed to other Palestinian factions to confront the Lebanese military.

Siniora said a team of U.S. experts arrived in Beirut to assist the investigation into bombings throughout Lebanon. Lebanese authorities were having difficulty gathering and examining forensic evidence from the attacks, which have been attributed to Syria, Siniora said.

U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said the FBI team would provide technical expertise in the investigation of the bombings. He did not elaborate.