Salam Urges Military to Control Situation in Eastern Border Areas
Prime Minister Tammam Salam urged the Army Command on Monday to take measures to control the situation in border regions in the eastern Bekaa Valley after gunmen fled into Lebanon following the fall of the Syrian town of Yabrud.
A statement issued by his office after a meeting between Salam and Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji at the Grand Serail, said the PM instructed the military commander “to take all the necessary measures to control the situation in Bekaa's border areas and do what it takes to protect civilians, and consolidate stability in Arsal, al-Labweh and nearby towns.”
The gunmen have fled into the northeastern town of Arsal after Syrian government troops and Hizbullah fighters captured Yabrud, a strategic town near the frontier.
The fact that opposition fighters fled into the country suggests the conflict could bleed further into Syria's neighbor.
On Monday, the army blew up a booby-trapped vehicle on the Fakha-Ras Baalbek road, a day after a suicide car bombing rocked the town of al-Nabi Othman.
Salam was briefed by Qahwaji on the latest security developments in the northern city of Tripoli and the measures taken by the army to stop the violence, the statement said.
The prime minister urged the political leaders of Tripoli to support the army and security forces to salvage the city and prevent the warring sides from tampering with its security.
The statement said that Salam also condemned the bombing in al-Nabi Othman and the recent rocket attacks and shelling on al-Labweh, Arsal and the neighboring towns.
Al-Labweh and other eastern towns, whose residents are sympathetic to Hizbullah and the forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, have been coming under almost daily rocket attacks by the supporters of the rebels.
Arsal, whose residents are Sunni and back the uprising against Assad, has also come under shelling and air raids by regime forces that claim they are targeting rebels infiltrating Lebanon from Syria.
Over the weekend, Syrian government warplanes chased the fleeing rebels into Lebanon, state media said, firing several rockets in the outskirts of Arsal.
The surrounding fields and hills have served as shelter for tens of thousands of refugees.
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