Drone Spying on Army Checkpoints Falls in Sidon

A small remote controlled aircraft fell on Monday near one of the army's checkpoints, that extend in several areas around the refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, in Sidon triggering concerns that the military is being monitored from the skies, As Safir daily said on Monday.

Reports said that the drone is an intelligent flying camera usually used to take visuals in weddings, and was flying over the camp and one of the army's checkpoints.

“A prominent Islamic activist who belongs to an extremist group was behind launching the drone which is believed to have been developed and modified to fly farther, while controlled from the ground via a remote control. It has varied uses in capturing images from all sides,” unnamed sources told the daily.

In that regard, Lebanese Armed Forces Intelligence Chief in the south Brigadier General Khodr Hammoud raised the issue with a delegation from the Palestinian political leadership in Ain el-Hilweh considering the matter a “provocation”.

He warned against “going too far by spying on the army particularly that the drone is capable of capturing army positions from the air with ease and clarity.”

Hammoud pointed out that three other drones were launched for filming in recent weeks from Hay al-Taware', and were spotted flying over Taamir Ain el-Hilweh taking photographs of the areas and an adjacent army checkpoint.

The second was spotted flying over Jabal al-Halib which has fallen afterward, while the third was spotted three days ago flying over Hay al-Nabaa and the army checkpoint before falling down.

Information said it is likely for extremists to possess a number of drones for use in taking imaging.

Hammoud concluded: “We have information indicating that some strangers and suspects have entered Ain el-Hilweh, and some youth from the camp have moved to the capital of the IS in Syria's al-Reqqa.”

The gatherers agreed to develop a security plan based on bridging the gap of illegal crossings which facilitates the entry of strangers and wanted people.

The southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh has long provided a stable bolthole for Palestinian refugees, some of whom have lived within its walls since fleeing their homes more than six decades ago.

But the war in neighboring Syria has transformed parts of the southern camp into a safe haven for jihadists traveling to fight there, creating districts where even Palestinian security forces fear to tread and raising tensions among residents.

D.A.

G.K.