Beirut – Georges Chahine
Two vehicles filled with firearms were seized in Lebanon near the Syrian border. After the Lebanese army found a small pick-up truck accompanied by a passenger car trying to avoid passing the army checkpoint, the two vehicles were stopped, searched, and discovered to be carrying various firearms and mortar shells. A source explained to Arabstoday: “The weapons were probably being moved within Lebanese territories as they cannot be transported into Syria via these legitimate crossings controlled by the joint security forces guarding the Lebanese-Syrian border.” The source, who requested anonymity, revealed that the cargo included mortar shells, machine guns and ammunition customarily owned by residents in border villages in the Wadi Khaled region. The drivers of the two vehicles—Wadi Khaled residents themselves—were apprehended.