Arab News | Lebanese army says it thwarts attempt to smuggle explosives from Syria

LONDON: Lebanon foiled on Thursday an attempt to smuggle about 245 kg of highly explosive material from Syria, the latest in a series of reported weapons-trafficking cases along the neighboring countries’ porous border.

The seizure followed surveillance and monitoring operations along Lebanon’s northern and eastern borders, the Lebanese Armed Forces said in a statement, adding that it also seized four explosive devices, eight detonators and electrical wires used in explosives, in addition to the TNT.

The suspected smugglers fled back toward Syrian territory when an army patrol arrived, according to the statement.

The attempted shipment comes amid heightened concern over weapons smuggling across the Lebanon-Syria border, which stretches about 375 km through rugged mountains, valleys and plains.

Much of the frontier lacks clearly marked boundary lines, and its terrain has long enabled illegal crossings used to move weapons, drugs and other contraband.

Lebanese authorities have reported several recent seizures tied to suspected cross-border trafficking networks. On Aug. 4, the army said that it intercepted 122 mm Grad rockets that had been smuggled from Syria to the outskirts of Arsal in eastern Lebanon.

Syrian authorities have reported similar cases. Security forces in the Syrian coastal city of Tartous said on Aug. 9 that they thwarted an attempt to smuggle automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade rounds, magazines and ammunition into Lebanon.

Authorities on both sides of the border have stepped up efforts this year to curb smuggling.