Islam Times - Arms smuggling increases along Lebanon-Syria border

Islam Times - Beirut is facing new security challenges as arms smuggling along the Lebanon-Syria border rises, while its army ability to combat the phenomenon is limited.

Since the unrest in neighboring Syria began in mid-March of last year, arms smuggling from Lebanon increased dramatically as new demand was created by rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad.

“Many of the dealers in Lebanon took advantage from this, to gain very big profits...., the price of weapons became very high in Lebanon,” Retired Lebanese army General, Hisham Jaber said.

Lebanese army investigations have revealed that some soldiers are involved in arms smuggling to Syria.

Syria has repeatedly urged Lebanon to control the poorly monitored border, which spans 330 kilometers, in a bid to reduce arms trading and smuggling.

Damascus blames “outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

The West and the Syrian opposition, however, accuse the government of killing protesters.