Concern in Lebanon After Syria Bolsters Border Force

ABBOUDIEH, Lebanon, Sept. 23 -- Syria has reinforced its military presence along its border with northern Lebanon, raising political concerns in Beirut despite assurances from Lebanon's military that the extra troops are in place only to counter smuggling between the two countries.

In Ashlaa and Srar, towns overlooking the Abboudieh border crossing, residents pointed Tuesday to what they said were three new Syrian military camps set along a roughly half-mile stretch of the Nahr al-Kabir river. The residents said they had seen Syrian soldiers digging trenches in the last few days.

The Lebanese army's directorate of information said news media reports Monday of an additional 10,000 Syrian troops in the area were exaggerated but officials did not provide another figure. A statement from the directorate said Syrian authorities had given the Lebanese government advance notice of the deployment, which the statement said "aims at enforcing measures to stop smuggling and nothing more than this."

Syrian officials have made no public comments about the additional troops on the border, the Associated Press reported.

Politicians in Beirut said they believed the Syrian government was using the troops to register its concern about the activities of Islamist fighters in northern Lebanon.

"Syria wants to promote the idea that there is a serious terrorism threat and al-Qaeda presence in north Lebanon and that it is willing to interfere militarily to solve this problem whenever the occasion arises," said State Minister Wael Abou Faour, a frequent critic of Syria's role in Lebanese affairs.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad spoke last month about radical Islamist fighters in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, and said stability in Lebanon could not be guaranteed unless the problem was solved.

Smugglers in Ashlaa, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Syrian anti-smuggling patrols were routine. The smugglers said one or two Syrian soldiers, known as the Hajjanah, patrolled this part of the border continuously and charged $13 to allow the passage of a donkey carrying four barrels of fuel, worth $266.

"Smuggling activity takes place very smoothly here, and accidents have been very rare," said Khaled Jundi, a local resident and father of 10, whose son and brother were active smugglers.