Free Syrian Army Accuses Syrian Regime of Being behind Intercepted Arms Smuggling Ship

A senior official in the Free Syrian Army denied that the army has any links to the ship that was intercepted by the Lebanese navy on Friday on suspicion that it was smuggling arms to Syria, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Tuesday.

The unnamed officer instead blamed the Syrian regime for being behind the ship.

He told the daily: “We consider the ship part of the Syrian intelligence’s fabrications in order to embarrass the international community.”

It is employing the arms shipment in order to justify its military campaign against the Syrian people, he added.

Furthermore, the officer stressed that the Free Syrian Army’s sole source of weapons is the Syrian army, whose members sell them some light arms.

He stressed that an international or Arab decision to provide the Free Syrian Army with weapons has not been taken yet.

“The equation on the ground would have changed had we been provided with arms,” he explained.

The Lebanese army over the weekend confirmed the interception of the vessel, Lutfallah II, which it said was transporting three containers loaded with arms.

“The ship was intercepted and the 11 crew members of various Arab and foreign nationalities were detained,” an army statement said, adding that the military police opened an investigation under the supervision of the competent judicial authority.

The ship was stopped by the navy off Lebanon's northern coast on Friday and towed to a port near the city of Batroun.