12:21PM GMT 16 Dec 2013
Israel said it had shot a Lebanese soldier (click here) early on Monday just hours after a sniper in Lebanon's army had killed one of its troops, leading to fears of escalating cycles of retaliation on the tense border between the two countries.
Major Arye Shalicar, an Israeli Defence Force (IDF) spokesman, said the shootings happened shortly after midnight after Israeli troops had identified "suspicious movement" along the frontier and fired at two Lebanese soldiers, hitting at least one of them. Their condition was unclear and there was no immediate response from the Lebanese military.
The incident followed the death of Master Sergeant Shlomi Cohen, 31, after he was hit by sniper fire as he travelled in a military vehicle along the border region near the Rosh Hanikra crossing, close to the Mediterranean coast on Sunday evening....
I am not saying Israel is completely incorrect if they are losing soldiers. What I am saying is there is spill over from Syria into Lebanon and Sidon, Lebanon is one of those places. Sidon has been fighting with Sunni militants.
Evidently, there is a militant preacher Ahmed Al-Assir in Sidon that has a militia following. The conflict in Syria has created problems for Lebanon. June of this year there was a incursion now called The Battle of Sidon. Sidon is coastal, but, is south of Beirut and within reach of the northern border of Israel. The reports in The Daily Star is about border crossings. It may be that Lebanon and Israel have a common foe.
Lebanon officials condemn Sidon Army (click here)
December 16, 2013 02:41 PM
(Last updated: December 16, 2013 03:18 PM)
| The Daily Star |
BEIRUT: Lebanese officials condemned Monday the two suicide attacks against the Lebanese Army in the coastal city of Sidon where one officer was killed.
President Michel Sleiman said “this criminal, terrorist act” came at a time the Lebanese were rallying behind the Army, seeking protection and stability.
Sleiman stressed that authorities will take all measures to fight terrorism.
One Lebanese Army officer was killed Sunday night in what the Army said was suicide attacks in separate parts of Sidon. Three gunmen were also killed.
Security sources said the attackers were likely supporters of Salafi-labelled Sheikh Ahmad Assir whose gunmen clashed with the Army in Sidon earlier this year.
Caretaker PM Najib Mikati said the incidents were terrorist attacks par excellence to target the military which protects Lebanon and preserves sovereignty and independence.
"We call on everyone to support the Army and the rest of Lebanon's security agencies and to prevent [anyone] from messing with our security," he said in a statement.
He also contacted Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi and followed up on the two incidents....
The tensions being reported between Israel and other nations may be less the actions of the sovereign Lebanon so much as free lancing militant groups that Lebanon is attempting to defend from itself. It sound to me as though the military leaders of these small countries need to form an alliance of intelligence to end the turbulence caused by small militias spawning because of the Syrian Civil War.
That may be unrealistic and simply a guess, but, it sincerely sounds as though Israel and Lebanon militaries need to be talking to each other.
The tensions being reported between Israel and other nations may be less the actions of the sovereign Lebanon so much as free lancing militant groups that Lebanon is attempting to defend from itself. It sound to me as though the military leaders of these small countries need to form an alliance of intelligence to end the turbulence caused by small militias spawning because of the Syrian Civil War.
That may be unrealistic and simply a guess, but, it sincerely sounds as though Israel and Lebanon militaries need to be talking to each other.
December 16, 2013 02:05 PM
(Last updated: December 16, 2013 03:49 PM)
| The Daily Star |
BEIRUT: The twin attacks on the Lebanese Army (click here) Sunday night are an act of suicide, the Army said.
The Army said in a statement that three men approached the checkpoint at the Sidon Awali bridge at 9 p.m., drawing suspicion that prompted soldiers to ask for their IDs.
At this point, the statement added, one of the attackers dashed toward the soldier, waving a hand grenade. The soldier swiftly responded by opening fire on him which led the to the explosion of the grenade.
The attacker was killed instantly and two soldiers were wounded, the statement said.
Another grenade was found in the victim’s pocket and was immediately dismantled by an Army expert, the statement added.
It said the two other assailants managed to escape, adding that investigation is underway to determine whether the Awali attackers are related to the group that attacked a similar checkpoint in Majdalyoun 45 minutes later.
The statement adds that as a result of a random checkpoint set up by the Army in Majdalyoun in the wake of the Awali attack, and while soldiers attempted to search a grey GMC Envoy with three men in it, one of them – Palestinian Bahaeddine al-Sayyed – stepped out of the vehicle and rushed toward Sgt. Samer Rizk, killing the officer and himself. Another soldier was also wounded in the 9:45 p.m. attack.
The statement said soldiers also opened fire toward the Envoy, killing two Lebanese nationals, Mohammad Jamil Zarif and Ibrahim al-Mir.
Soldiers confiscated an explosives-belt that was set to blow up.
If there is increasing instability in Lebanon that is a concern for the region and not just Israel.
December 15, 2013
Imaduddin
The Army said in a statement that three men approached the checkpoint at the Sidon Awali bridge at 9 p.m., drawing suspicion that prompted soldiers to ask for their IDs.
At this point, the statement added, one of the attackers dashed toward the soldier, waving a hand grenade. The soldier swiftly responded by opening fire on him which led the to the explosion of the grenade.
The attacker was killed instantly and two soldiers were wounded, the statement said.
Another grenade was found in the victim’s pocket and was immediately dismantled by an Army expert, the statement added.
It said the two other assailants managed to escape, adding that investigation is underway to determine whether the Awali attackers are related to the group that attacked a similar checkpoint in Majdalyoun 45 minutes later.
The statement adds that as a result of a random checkpoint set up by the Army in Majdalyoun in the wake of the Awali attack, and while soldiers attempted to search a grey GMC Envoy with three men in it, one of them – Palestinian Bahaeddine al-Sayyed – stepped out of the vehicle and rushed toward Sgt. Samer Rizk, killing the officer and himself. Another soldier was also wounded in the 9:45 p.m. attack.
The statement said soldiers also opened fire toward the Envoy, killing two Lebanese nationals, Mohammad Jamil Zarif and Ibrahim al-Mir.
Soldiers confiscated an explosives-belt that was set to blow up.
If there is increasing instability in Lebanon that is a concern for the region and not just Israel.
December 15, 2013
Imaduddin
GENEVA: The number of Syrian refugees (click here) in the Middle East will nearly double over the next year to exceed four million, the United Nations said Monday as it launched its appeal for funds.
Another 9.3 million people are expected to be in need of aid inside the war-ravaged nation by the end of next year, with millions displaced from their homes, the UN's humanitarian agency (OCHA) said. The civil war between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebels seeking his overthrow has raged for 33 months and killed more than 126,000 people.
The crisis has put an enormous strain on neighbouring countries, where hundreds of thousands of refugees are sheltering in tents as the winter sets in.
Some 4.1 million Syrians will be living as refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt by the end of 2014, up from an estimated 2.4 million today, according to the latest estimate....
