Army Denies Arrest of Troops in Syria: Exchanged Footage is Video of 2012 Arsal Ambush
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The army command denied on Saturday that troops were held captive by the Free Syrian Army inside the neighboring country, after a video exchanged on social media websites portrayed soldiers arrested by the Syrian rebels.
“The video and the pictures shared online go back to September 16, 2012 when troops where ambushed by FSA fighters in (the northeastern town of) Arsal,” it said in a communique.
It continued: “What was said about the troops being detained in Syrian territories following the army's battles in Abra (neighborhood in the southern city of Sidon) is not true.”
The communique lamented the “defamation campaign against the military institution since the eruption of the fighting in Abra, questioning implicating the FSA in the Lebanese crisis during these tough times.”
Earlier on Saturday, official sources slammed as “fabricated” a video exchanged on social media platforms that shows army troops being arrested by members of the FSA in a plain region on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
“The video and pictures published online showing FSA members seizing military vehicles and kidnapping troops are fake,” the state-run National News Agency said quoting official sources.
The video features FSA members cheering after the arrest of kneeling troops, without showing their allegedly Lebanese military suits.
The FSA fighters were chanting and celebrating “their second victory of the day, after also defeating the Syrian army.”
The footage then shows two vehicles whose number plates have a Lebanese flag.
This comes after the army fought the gunmen of Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Asir in Abra neighborhood of the southern city of Sidon in the past weekend.
At least 17 troops were killed during the clashes, and dozens were wounded.
29 June 2013, 17:49
34
This looks pretty real to me, what is fabricated about it? are they aliens?what is the government trying to hide?
I have a feeling we will see more about this soon, what was the number of Assir supporters kidnapped & arrested buy the shia lebanese army?
Well I guess now they will all have to be released in exchanged for the LAF soldiers
29 June 2013, 17:50
25
the actions of your hizbushaitan at the root cause of all that is coming now.
keep saying they are lies, while the proofs are on kahwaji's desk who said he did not know and promised to take action.
if he does, we might avert what is coming, otherwise ....
29 June 2013, 18:15
26
just now: the army did not deny the video authenticity (how could they?)\but they are relating it to a year back.
29 June 2013, 18:17
00
So the FSA painted their own Hummers and dressed 30 of their soldiers as Lebanese soldiers? I'm either as gullible as a school girl or this is pretty serious and you fools are hiding your head in the sand...
29 June 2013, 18:56
14
"This video may or may not be fabricated."
have you read the article? it dates back from 2012.... read a bit :)
29 June 2013, 20:36
12
Throw a nuke on all sunis , that is the only solution lol, Israel belly up laughing at us
29 June 2013, 21:56
30
lebanon army dont have nukes...haha
to all moderate lebanese sunni, rise up with all ur might, fight the takferi who are giving sunni bad image... KSA/Qatar... dont care about you and ur children... just look how much they care about teh sunni syrian refugee in jorden or lebanon...or about Palestinians
29 June 2013, 20:38
00
It is shameful to see the armed forces of your country humiliated in this fashion regardless of where your political affiliations lie. They should be the pride of every Lebanese, and not be used as pawns in a political game. The army personnel who died in Abra were Christians of different sects, Sunnis and Shias. I bet those in the video are as well. I would hope the rest of the country would come together just so that those in the armed forces feel they are risking themselves for some justifiable cause, rather than petty political squabbles..
29 June 2013, 21:04
34
Let the LAF do what it needs to do to secure the country...this video is just cheap propaganda by those who were badly beaten and are now trying to find a way to discredit the army for having spanked them....they will not succeed.
29 June 2013, 21:56
23
"They will slaughter every Chistian, Shi'a, Druze, Maronite, Alawite and any moderate Sunni who opposes them."
you perfectly summed up hezbollah too! ....
29 June 2013, 21:57
24
if the army takes the weapons from hezbollah you ll see if your friends will still praise and defend the institution.... LOL!
30 June 2013, 04:29
11
Your Avatar is the biggest lie on this site. Sweet looking and dark on the inside.
30 June 2013, 11:18
00
This video is real, and I think the Lebanese soldiers were held captive for couple of minutes than released. I believe this was a message to our Army and our Government that if you keep on going this way, we can do more,,,,,, I think that's what they meant
30 June 2013, 11:23
01
This is also a sort Humiliation to our Army, So they have to be careful dealing with those Cannibals called Free Syrian Army.
30 June 2013, 11:34
00
And yet you hate all Sunnis because of the actions of a few.
Get your story straight effort lying to everyone to get sympathy
